Snowed In
by Imagination-Parade
Summary: Booth and Parker get snowed in at Brennan's apartment after Parker insists that they spend Christmas with her. Set after 3.09 "Santa in the Slush"; BB
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone! This is the first Bones Fanfiction I ever wrote, and I actually wrote this back in December (over Christmas break, actually), but I just recently got around to actually joining the site. It's a Christmas story, but seeing as how "Santa in the Slush" is _still_ the last new episode of Bones that's aired, I figured it'd be okay to post it anyway. Besides, who needs it to be December to read a fluffy little Christmas story, right? _

_Anyway, this starts on Christmas morning, the morning after Booth brought Brennan the tree. I've got the entire story written already, so I'll probably post a new chapter every couple of days. Hope you all enjoy and please leave a review if you have the time! _

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones. You'd be seeing this on the actual show if I did._

* * *

Seeley Booth took a moment to take in the scenery around him. He was standing on the steps outside of the Jeffersonian with snow falling all around himself and his beautiful partner. Temperance Brennan was standing across from him with her arms wrapped tightly around her small frame to keep herself warm. He took a step towards her with the intention of using his own arms to warm her. 

Before he moved any closer, he took another moment to look at her. She was looking out over the city with her big, blue eyes and had large white snowflakes curled into her auburn hair. Her cheeks and nose were red and rosy from the cold, and she had a slight smile on her face. Booth briefly thought about how beautiful she looked before moving closer to her. Rather than hugging her, he cupped his hands around her cold cheeks, gently moved her face so that she was looking at him, and pulled her lips up to meet his halfway.

She hesitated at first due to the spontaneous nature of his kiss, but it was only a moment before Booth felt her relax and begin to kiss him back. Before he could deepen the kiss, he felt her gently pulling away. He didn't want to let her go, but released her lips and rested his forehead on hers. Her arms had found their way around him, and one hand rested on his back, while the other gently massaged the base of his neck.

"Tempe," he breathed, using her given name, eliciting a smile from her.

"Daddy!" Parker yelled, furiously shaking his father.

Booth opened his eyes and found that he was in his bedroom, and his six-year-old son was standing besides his bed, shaking him awake. He glanced at the clock that rested on his bedside table. It was 6:32 AM on December 25th, Christmas morning.

_Damn_, Booth thought. _Only a dream._

"Hey, Parker," Booth said.

"Daddy, what's a tempe?" he asked with a confused expression on his face.

_Crap, did I say that out loud?_ Booth thought.

"What, Parker?" Booth replied as he pulled his son up into bed with him.

"When you were dreaming, you said 'Tempe.' What's a tempe?"

"Tempe is Dr. Bones's nickname," he said honestly, hoping his son wouldn't have too many more questions.

"I thought Bones was her nickname?" Parker replied.

"It is, although Bones is just my own special name for her. Other people call her Tempe."

"Why Tempe?"

"Her first name is Temperance, so Tempe is a shortened form of that. It's like when your mom calls you Park instead of Parker."

"Oh," the little boy said, seemingly accepting that answer. Booth silently wished that that would be the end of this particular conversation about Bones.

"Daddy?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, bub?"

"Why were you dreaming about Dr. Bones?"

"Well, I…uh…" Booth stuttered. That was the exact question he was hoping Parker wouldn't ask him. "I guess I was thinking about her after we took her the tree last night."

"Oh, okay. Let's go open presents!"

Parker climbed over his father, jumped off the bed, and ran in the direction of the living room. Booth laughed and got out of bed. He picked up a T-shirt that he had left on his chair the night before and pulled it over his head, leaving him dressed in the shirt and a pair of flannel pants with Christmas lights all over them. Once he was dressed, he picked up his camera, and followed his son into their living room.

Parker was eagerly sorting the presents into piles according to who each present was for. He then picked up one with his name on it and began to enthusiastically shake it.

"Whoa, whoa, buddy!" Booth said, running over. He took the present from his son's hand and placed it back on the floor. "Easy, Parker. You don't want to risk breaking whatever is inside."

"That's true," Parker agreed. "Sorry, Daddy."

"Besides, we need to eat a little breakfast before we tackle the presents. We don't want a repeat of last year."

The year before, Parker and Booth had opened gifts as soon as they woke up, and, due to a bad mixture of Christmas excitement and an empty stomach, Parker had ended up throwing up all over his brand new pajamas. It had taken several days for Booth to restore the present to its original condition.

"Okay, but can't I just open one?" Parker begged.

"Okay, go ahead. But just one, so choose wisely," Booth agreed.

Parker took a moment to look over his gifts before selecting one from his father. He quickly tore the wrapping paper off and revealed a book about dinosaurs.

"Cool! Dinosaurs! Thanks, Dad!" Parker said, hugging him.

"You're welcome. Now, let's go eat."

Booth placed Parker on the kitchen counter and turned to the refrigerator. Booth began making a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast while Parker flipped through his new book.

"Hey, Daddy?" Parker said.

"Yes?"

"Has Dr. Bones ever dug up a dinosaur bone like this guy?" Parker asked, pointing to a drawing in his book. The drawing depicted an archeologist digging up a dinosaur bone in the desert. Booth walked over to his son and peeked at the picture.

"I don't think so. She usually doesn't do too much digging," Booth answered and went back to making breakfast.

"Daddy, what's Dr. Bones doing for Christmas?" he asked as Booth put two plates full of food onto the table. He walked back over and lifted Parker off of the counter to put him in his chair.

"I don't know," Booth said honestly. He had no idea what she'd be doing today now that her Peru trip had been cancelled. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped that she wouldn't spend her holiday behind her desk at the lab.

"She's not alone, is she?" Parker asked.

"I don't know, Parker," he replied, not having the heart to tell his son that the answer to that question was probably yes.

"But if she saw her family last night, that would mean she's alone now, right?"

"I don't know, Parker. Maybe."

"We should spend Christmas with Dr. Bones!" he exclaimed with excitement.

"What?" Booth asked, wanting to make sure he had heard him right.

"Yeah! Come on, Daddy. Don't you wanna see her? I know you were dreaming about her! Besides, it's Christmas. You're the one who told me that no one should ever be alone on Christmas!"

"Don't you think it's a little early to be visiting people? It's not even seven yet," Booth said, pointing to the clock.

"But it's Christmas!" Parker said, unable to comprehend that not everyone gets up super early to open presents.

In his heart, Booth loved the idea that his son had just so happily announced to him. He could think of nothing better than spending his favorite holiday with his son and his partner, especially since the latter would probably spend the day working, if not in the lab, then on her next book, and truth be told, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her after she had so graciously given him her gum under the mistletoe just a few days before. He also liked the idea because he knew that Brennan was definitely not a Christmas person, and he had always wished that someway, somehow, he would be able to change that. Maybe a Christmas morning with a six-year-old would do the trick.

"Please, Daddy! We can't leave her alone, and you were going to spend Christmas with her anyway before the Africa trip got cancelled," Parker said.

"Okay, Parker. We'll finish breakfast, open presents, and then we'll go see Bones," Booth agreed.

"No! We have to take the presents to her house and open them there! We have to go now."

"Parker…"

"Daddy…" Parker replied, matching his tone.

"She probably doesn't have a tree. You sure you don't wanna open gifts here?"

"No tree?" he asked, shocked. "Well, we can take her the tree we took her last night! It's still in the car, right?"

"Yes, Parker it is, but I don't know if this is the best idea," Booth said, knowing that Brennan probably wouldn't be too receptive to the plan, especially not this early in the morning.

The six-year-old boy hopped off of his chair at the dining table and disappeared from sight. Booth stood up and started to follow him. Parker almost collided with him as they both rounded the same corner at the same time.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Booth asked.

"Here," Parker said, handing his father a pair of his tennis shoes. "Put them on."

"Parker," Booth laughed. The boy definitely had determination. Booth could give him credit for that. Before he could say anything else, his son had run off again. He ran back a little while later, only to find Booth in the exact same position, his shoes still in his hands.

"Daddy, put your shoes on!" he said with a mock sternness in his voice. Booth realized that he was fighting a losing battle, though he never thought there would be a day when he fought _against_ going to see his Bones.

"Where'd you run off to this time, huh?" he asked.

Parker smiled sweetly, said nothing, and handed Booth the keys to his FBI-issued SUV. Booth's lips curved into a smile when he realized that his son had just gotten him the car keys and would probably drag him out the door himself if he didn't agree to go see Brennan soon.

"Let's go," Parker said. Booth sighed a sigh of defeat as he led his son to his bedroom to help him get dressed.

_Losing battle, indeed_, Booth thought. He couldn't believe he was being bossed around by his six-year-old son. _I just hope Bones doesn't shoot me for waking her up this early on what's supposed to be a day off_.

"Daddy, where are we going? The door's that way," Parker said.

"Well, you can't go dressed like that. You need to get dressed, and I need to get dressed, and we need to get all the presents ready to go before we can go see Dr. Bones," Booth explained. "We are going to your room, so I can help you pick out an outfit."

"And then after we're dressed, we're going to see Dr. Bones?" he asked.

"Yes, Parker. We'll go spend Christmas with Bones," he said.

"Yay!" Parker exclaimed. "Let's go!"

* * *

_I know that Booth will probably never call Brennan "Tempe" but you'll see why I had him mutter that in his dream-induced state later on in the story. _

_Next Up: Parker and Booth arrive at Brennan's apartment and get ready to open presents. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for all the great reviews! Glad you're enjoying it._

_I still don't own Bones.

* * *

_The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab was dark and deserted except for the single light coming from the office of Dr. Temperance Brennan. Dr. Brennan quickly clicked the keys on her keyboard as she wrote the newest chapter in her latest anthropology novel. She was so caught up in the steamy scene between Kathy and Andy that she failed to notice her partner standing in her doorway, watching her write.

As much as Temperance didn't want to admit it, she often fantasized about herself and Booth acting out the type of passionate scenes that she wrote for Kathy and Andy. She typed Andy into her computer, but she said the name Booth in her mind, and after that mistletoe kiss, she knew that if anything ever did happen between herself and Booth, the reality of them together would be much better than any fictional story she could ever write.

She finished the scene and hit save, satisfied with her work. She took a drink out of the water bottle she kept by her computer screen and screwed the cap back on when she was finished. Tempe spun around in her chair, finally ready to go home for the evening, and noticed Seeley Booth standing in her doorway.

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Long enough to hear you muttering something about Andy, Kathy, and Kathy's desk," Booth said, a wicked grin on his face.

"What are you doing here so late?" she asked.

Booth said nothing but walked over to her. He gently grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together, and pulled her over to the spot where the mistletoe still hung from her office ceiling. Temperance glanced up at the mistletoe and then fixed her gaze back on Booth.

"Booth? What are you…" she started. She was silenced by his warm finger against her lips.

"No counting steamboats this time," he said quietly before pressing his lips to hers. His lips were soft and his hands rested on either side of her waist. Her arms instinctively traveled around his neck so that one of her hands was tangled up in his thick, dark hair. Just as she felt Booth's tongue against her own, Brennan heard a faint knocking in the background.

Brennan's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself lying in her bed, staring at her apartment ceiling, no mistletoe in sight. The clock by her bed read 8:18 AM, and the very real, very constant knocking was coming from her front door.

_Damn_, she thought. _It was only a dream. Who in the world is here this early on Christmas morning?_

She reluctantly pushed the covers away from her body and dragged herself out of bed to see who was disturbing her peaceful sleep on her day off.

Outside the apartment, Booth stood next to Brennan's small tree and held a bag full of his and Parker's presents in his arms. Parker stood in front of him, and hadn't let up on the knocking since they arrived at Brennan's home.

"Daddy, why isn't Dr. Bones answering?" Parker asked, sadly.

"I don't know, bub. Maybe she went to Africa without me," he said, thinking about her planned trip to Peru. "Maybe she got a later flight."

"But why would she go without you?"

Booth was about to pull out his cell phone and dial her familiar number when the door to the apartment swung open, revealing a sleepy-looking Dr. Brennan.

_Crap_, Booth thought. _We woke her up. _

Booth's eyes unconsciously traveled over her body. She was barefoot and wearing black sleep plants covered with little silver stars and a black tank top that was slightly stretched around her breasts. Her hair was straight and didn't show any signs that she had just been asleep, while the expression on her face and the look in her eyes conveyed confusion, slight irritation, and exhaustion to Booth's wandering eyes. She looked beautiful. He wanted to take her in his arms, tell her how beautiful she looked right after she had just woken up, and kiss her softly. The only thing that was stopping him from doing just that was the small, blonde six-year-old standing between the FBI agent and the forensic anthropologist.

"Booth…what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Merry Christmas, Bones!" Parker yelled, throwing his arms around her waist. His head rested on her stomach. She was thrown off by the little boy's display of affection, but, after allowing herself a moment to respond, she hugged him back.

Booth watched with a smile on his face. He loved seeing the two most important people in his life get along.

"Can we come in, Bones?" Booth asked.

"Sure. Of course," she replied, still a bit flustered by their surprise visit. Parker grabbed the large bag of presents out of Booth's hands and ran into her living room. Brennan turned to follow him.

"Hey," Booth said, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her just outside of her doorway. "I'm sorry about this. I should've called first. I was really hoping we wouldn't wake you up."

"No, Booth, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm just a little confused," she said.

"We were eating breakfast this morning, and Parker realized that if you were with your family last night, you were probably alone today, and he insisted that we come over right then. He didn't want you to be alone today."

"Really?" Brennan asked, touched by how much Parker cared about her.

"Yeah, Bones, really. He literally went and got the car keys when I told him it was too early to come over. Parker will not be denied today."

"Is he unloading presents?" Brennan asked, peeking into her apartment.

"Uh, yeah, he is. He wanted us to open them with you," Booth admitted.

"Why?"

"Because that little boy likes you, and, in my opinion, he's got good taste."

It was at that moment that Temperance realized that Booth's hand was still gently wrapped around her arm. He noticed, too, and quickly pulled away.

"Do you need help with the tree?" she asked.

"That would be great, Bones. Thanks," he replied.

"Is this the same one from last night?" she asked him as they began to maneuver it into her apartment.

"It sure is," Booth smiled.

"Daddy, it's snowing really hard now!" Parker said with excitement.

"It's snowing?" Brennan asked, moving over to the window.

"Yeah, it is. It's coming down pretty hard, actually. The roads haven't been completely cleared yet, either. That's why it took so long to get here," Booth said. Brennan pulled back the curtains on her window and saw nothing but white outside. The snow was falling quickly and the winds were blowing pretty hard. Washington DC was definitely in for a pretty decent sized snowstorm.

"Yay! The tree's in!" Parker celebrated and began to surround the tree with gifts. Brennan walked over to Booth.

"How long do you have him?" she asked

"I have to take him to Rebecca and Captain Fantastic around one," Booth replied quietly so Parker wouldn't hear the 'Captain Fantastic' part of his reply.

"I know you told me before, but Captain Fantastic _is_ a sarcastic, mean-spirited nickname, right?" Brennan asked, clarifying their earlier conversation.

"Yes, Bones. It's sarcasm," Booth said, smiling. He loved how oblivious she could be sometimes.

"You really don't mind spending your holiday over here? I'm intruding on your time with your son, and I know how much spending Christmas with him means to you," she said.

"Bones, look at me," he said. She turned her head and looked directly into his eyes. "You are, in no way, intruding on anything."

Brennan opened her mouth to reply to him, but before she could say anything, Parker walked over and began tugging on the sleeve of Booth's jacket.

"What's up, buddy?" Booth asked. Parker motioned for Booth to come down to his level. Booth got down on his knees, and Parker whispered something in one of his ears.

"You could've asked her that, Parker!" Booth said, tickling his son's stomach.

"What's wrong?" Brennan asked.

"Parker wants to know where your bathroom is," Booth chuckled.

"It's that door right over that," Brennan said, pointing.

"Thanks," Parker said and ran across the room.

"Want some coffee?" Brennan asked, heading towards the kitchen.

"Yes. Please. I've already been up for two hours," Booth said.

"Two hours?" she replied.

"Well, to recap, Parker got me up at 6:30, I started fixing breakfast about 15 minutes later, he decided he wanted to come here around seven, and it took an hour and 15 minutes to get dressed, load up the car, and get here," Booth said, describing his morning for her.

"You've been busy," Brennan agreed.

"Yeah, and I cannot believe that my son has been up since six and has only opened one gift," he said. "I never could've done that at his age."

Brennan smiled, imaging Booth as a wide-eyed boy on Christmas morning. She handed him a mug full of hot coffee. He nodded in thanks and flashed her a smile. They heard Parker's little footsteps coming towards them.

"Present time!" Parker yelled with enthusiasm. He walked over to Brennan and grabbed one of her hands into his right one and then dragged her over to Booth and took Booth's hand in his left one. He tried to drag them into Brennan's living room.

"Calm down, buddy. We're going!" Booth said.

Parker became impatient with the slow-moving, caffeine-deprived adults and ran ahead of them. He sat down in front of the tree and began sorting out the gifts by name, just as he had done at his house earlier that morning.

"Come on!" he yelled.

"Just a minute, Parker!" Booth called back. He turned to Brennan. "You ready?"

"What exactly do I need to be ready for? We're just going to watch your son open his new toys," Brennan said.

"Christmas morning can get pretty crazy in the Booth household," he told her.

"I'm sure I can handle it," Brennan assured him.

"Daddy! Dr. Bones!" Parker yelled again.

"However, I'm not sure if _he_ can handle it," Brennan said, pointing towards the living room.

"I think we better get in there before he gets so excited he accidentally breaks something," Booth said.

"Good idea," Brennan agreed, thinking of all of the irreplaceable artifacts that could be found in her apartment.

Booth clutched his mug in one hand and placed his other hand on the small of Brennan's back to guide her out of the kitchen and into the living room. Brennan was clutching her coffee in one of her hands as well, and used her other to move Booth's hand off of her back. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she laced her fingers with his, and, hand-in-hand, they walked into the living room to join Booth's son by the Christmas tree.

* * *

_Next Up: Brennan and the Booth boys open gifts!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I still don't own Bones, and reviews still make me happy!

* * *

_

"Hurry!" Parker yelled for the third time that morning.

Booth and Brennan finally entered the living room, their fingers still intertwined.

"You know, Parker, patience is a virtue," Brennan said. She gently removed her fingers from Booth's and sat down on the couch.

"What's a virtue?" he asked innocently.

"I'll explain later," Booth said. "Let's open gifts!" He sat on the couch next to Brennan and resisted the urge to wrap his arm around her waist.

"Why are there three piles?" Brennan asked, confused.

"'Cause those three are for you, Dr. Bones," Parker said, pointing to a pile of three brightly-wrapped gifts.

"What?" she asked genuinely surprised. "Booth, I thought the tree was my gift."

"They're not all from me," Booth said, glancing at Parker. "Only one of them is mine. The tree was your main gift from me, but I had to get you something to unwrap."

"The other two are from me! I wrapped them myself," Parker said with pride in his voice.

"And it looks like you did a great job!" she said, despite the massive amount of tape that had clearly been used on Parker's two gifts. "Oh, excuse me a minute. I'll be right back."

Brennan stood up and walked to her room. Parker looked at Booth for an explanation as to why she left, but Booth just shrugged. Brennan quickly returned wearing a black cotton sweater over her tank top and carrying four gifts in her arms. She handed two of them over to Parker and placed the others in the pile in front of Booth.

"Can I open it? Can I?" Parker asked, holding the bigger of the two boxes he had just been handed.

"Have at it," Booth said as Brennan sat back down next to him.

Both adults giggled as the younger Booth managed to rip the paper off of his gift in record time and fling the wrappings in every direction he possibly could. Parker turned the large box over a few times, looking at the pictures, before looking up at Brennan.

"This looks pretty cool. What is it?" he asked, slightly confused.

Brennan scooted up on the couch so that she could reach the box. "Your dad told me you were interested in space, so I got you an astronomy set. You can paint all the little planets and then put them in order on these wires. Once they're on the wires, you can make the planets orbit around the sun, which is located in the center of the display. There's also fact cards for each of the planets and the sun and the moon," Brennan explained. "Do you like it?" she added nervously.

Parker's eyes lit up during her explanation. "I love it! Thanks, Dr. Bones! This is awesome! Isn't it cool, Daddy?"

Booth looked at Brennan, who now wore a smile of satisfaction on her face. "You're trying to turn my kid into a squint!"

"I am not!" Brennan protested. "You really should encourage his interest in science, Booth."

"Yeah, yeah," Booth said, rolling his eyes. His face then turned serious. "It's a great present, Bones. Really."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Open one of mine, Dr. Bones," Parker said, handing her a gift.

Brennan took the gift from him and began to slowly open it, trying not to rip the paper. This proved to be a challenge thanks to all of the tape that Parker has used while wrapping. Booth watched her and smiled at her methodical unwrapping method.

"Rip it!" Parker cheered. "Why are you opening it so slowly? Aren't you excited to see what it is?"

"Of course I am, Parker, but this way, I can reuse the paper," Brennan said.

"Why would you want to do that?" he asked.

"Saving and reusing wrapping paper would help the environment by saving trees," she answered honestly.

"Trees don't look like that, silly. Trees are brown," the young boy said.

"Well, you see, Parker," Brennan began and looked at Booth. He gently touched her arm and shook his head no. She dropped the subject and continued unwrapping the gift.

"I drew it last night! Do you like it?" Parker asked.

Brennan looked at the piece of paper and recognized an elephant, a skull, two people, and – was that a kangaroo?

"It's beautiful, Parker!" she said. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"It's you and Daddy in Africa! That's you playing with bones, and that's Daddy playing with the animals," he said proudly, pointing out the different parts of his picture.

She smiled. "I love it, Parker. Thank you."

Booth watched her carefully and saw that she truly loved the picture his son had drawn her. He was also extremely proud of her for not pointing out that kangaroos don't live in Africa or that she doesn't "play" with bones or that playing with an elephant is dangerous or that she was really planning on going to Peru, and Peru is definitely _not_ in Africa.

"Your turn, Daddy," Parker said. Booth selected one of Brennan's and tore the paper off much like his son had done earlier with his gifts.

"A book of medical and anthropological terms? Bones! Making fun of my intelligence, are we?" Booth asked, pretending to be hurt.

"No! Never. It was Zack's idea. He's sick of explaining things to you," Brennan said. She had a small grin on her face as she revealed the origin of the gift.

"Squints," Booth muttered, shaking his head. "You're up, Parker."

Parker smiled and ripped open another package. He pulled out a dinosaur play set and squealed with delight.

"Who's it from, Buddy?" Booth asked, knowing it wasn't from him.

"Grandpa!" Parker answered, admiring the gift.

"Okay, turn it around and smile. We gotta take a picture for him," Booth said, picking up his digital camera. Brennan immediately snatched it from his hands.

"Go get in the picture with him," she said before Booth could protest the unexpected camera removal.

Booth left the couch and sat down by his son on the floor. They held up the gift and looked towards Brennan. Parker giggled and stuck a bow on the top of Booth's head. Brennan smiled and snapped the photo. On his way back to the couch, Booth picked up his gift to Brennan and placed it in her lap.

She handed him the camera and began to open this gift just as carefully as she had opened the last. She looked confused when she got a look at what the gift was. Booth snapped a photo of the confused expression on her face.

"I don't get it. You got me a remote-controlled car? Are you sure this isn't for Parker?" she asked, pulling it out.

"Oh, no. It's for you, Bones. It's a black SUV, just like my FBI vehicle. You always want to drive," he said with an 'I'm-definitely-up-to-something' look on his face.

"Booth!" she exclaimed as she began to understand the meaning of the gift.

"And now, with the addition of four double-A batteries, you can drive as much as you want."

"That was a very clever idea, but what am I going to do with this?"

"Let your nieces play with it? Let Parker play with it?" he suggested.

"Yeah!" Parker squealed with approval.

"Or you could just put it on the shelf with Jasper and Brainy Smurf," Booth said quietly so only she could hear.

"How'd you know I have a shelf for them?" she asked just as quietly.

"Lucky guess," he shrugged.

Booth then opened a present from his mother before telling Parker it was his turn again.

"Can I open your other one, Bones?" Parker asked.

"Of course! Go ahead," she said, giving her permission.

He eagerly ripped off the wrapping paper, and when he was finished with that task, they were all met with another Parker-Christmas shriek.

"_Surf's Up_!" he yelled.

Booth's head immediately turned towards his partner. "You bought him a movie?"

"That's okay, right?" she asked. "I don't know how much TV you or Rebecca let him watch, but I didn't think it'd be a problem."

"No, it's not a problem at all, but _you_, Dr. Temperance Brennan, bought him a _movie_?" he asked again in disbelief. "How?"

"I told the lady at the store that I needed a movie for a Christmas gift for a six-year-old boy, but I didn't have any children of my own, so I wasn't sure what to get. She took me straight to that and said her seven-year-old loved it, and despite the fact that penguins don't live in Hawaii, or anywhere where one could surf for that matter, it looked like a good movie for him," she explained. "Was it a good choice, Parker?"

"Yeah! I love Cody!" Parker exclaimed.

"Who's Cody?" Brennan asked. Booth snickered. This would be good.

"The penguin," Parker said, pointing to the cover of the DVD.

"The penguin's name is Cody?" she asked as Booth laughed out loud.

Parker nodded. Brennan took a deep breath and told Booth to open a gift. Once again, Booth was proud of her for not ranting about how it was logically impossible for penguins to talk, surf, live in Hawaii, be best friends with a chicken, or have the name Cody. Booth reached for Brennan's other gift, but she stopped him.

"Later," she smiled. Whatever it was, he knew that she wanted him to open it when it was just them.

Booth instead selected one from his brother and had Brennan take a photo as he unwrapped Christmas-themed socks.

Parker then insisted that Brennan open her last gift. She picked it up, and, just for Parker, ripped the paper off instead of carefully removing it. She held up a homemade Christmas ornament with his name and the year carved into the back.

"Parker, it's beautiful. Did you make this?" she asked, surprised by the gift.

"Ah-huh. We made five ornaments in school this year. I gave two to Mommy and two to Daddy, and I wanted you to have the fifth one," Parker said.

Brennan was surprised and touched by his gift. Booth watched her react to his son's present. He had no idea that Parker had another ornament that he was saving especially for her. She got up, walked over to Parker, and kissed his cheek. Booth frowned. He got her a whole tree! Where was his kiss?

"Do you wanna hang this on the tree for me?" Brennan asked, handing it to him. Parker smiled and hung it next to a blue snowflake.

Brennan sat back down next to Booth, still fairly speechless. Booth reached over and squeezed her hand. She smiled at him. Brennan relaxed on the couch as she watched the Booth boys finish unwrapping their gifts, all except Brennan's last one to Booth. He was saving that one for later, just as she had instructed.

"Well, you were right. That _was_ intense," Brennan said, only half-kidding.

"Told you," Booth smiled. He leaned back on the couch with her as the pair watched Parker admire and open his new toys.

* * *

_Coming soon to a computer screen near you: Booth opens Brennan's gift, and Parker watches the Disney parade. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Several of you were anxious to see what Brennan's last present to Booth is, so I hope it doesn't disappoint! Thanks for all the reviews, and I still don't own Bones.

* * *

_

"Dad, it's time for the Christmas parade," Parker suddenly realized.

Booth turned to Brennan and lowered his voice. "Okay, _you_ get to be the one to tell him that he can't watch the Disney parade because you don't have a TV."

"I have a TV," she said, casually.

"You do?"

"Angela bought me one for my last birthday. That and a DVD player. I've barely used either one, but I've got them."

Brennan handed the little boy a remote that she had yet to fully figure out how to use and frowned as Parker immediately turned the television set on and to the channel he wanted. Booth laughed at her expression. Of course the six-year-old boy would know how to use a cable box better than world-renown Dr. Temperance Brennan.

"Got any more coffee, Bones?" Booth asked as Parker began to watch the parade.

"Sure," she said.

She stood and picked up the two mugs. Booth grabbed his gift and followed her into the kitchen. She filled their mugs with coffee and popped them into the microwave to heat them up.

"Can I open it now?" he asked, grinning and holding up her gift.

She smiled at his boyish enthusiasm and nodded. He sat down at her counter and unwrapped the gift. He found three framed photographs inside. The first was a posed picture of Brennan, Angela, Hodgins, Zack, and Cam smiling at the camera. All five of them were standing in front of the Angelator, wearing their blue lab coats. Booth smiled as he remembered the day he demanded that they all stand together and pose for the photo. Brennan, he remembered, had been the least cooperative of all of them. Angela had just presented a scenario that perfectly explained how their latest victim was killed and by whom, and Brennan had wanted to quit fooling around and get back to work. The frame was engraved with a message that read "Agent Booth's Squint Squad."

The second was a candid photo that included Booth, Brennan, Angela, and Zack. Booth and Brennan were in the middle of an argument. He looked angry and was clearly yelling at her. Her eyes were wide with irritation, the 'you're-such-a-philistine' expression on her face, and Angela and Zack looked on with amusement, clearly enjoying the show. Booth chuckled. He had absolutely no idea when that photo was taken because he was pretty sure he and Bones could be found in similar stances on a weekly, or even a daily basis.

"Hodgins took that when we weren't paying attention. Angela just gave it to me a few nights ago," Brennan told him as Booth smiled.

"What were we arguing about?" Booth asked.

"Oh, I have no idea what that particular argument was about, but it looked like it was pretty heated," Brennan said.

"So is the fact that we can't remember what we were so clearly passionately arguing about sad?" he asked.

"I think it could just be considered the social norm for the two of us," she shrugged. "Look at the other photo."

Booth had almost forgotten there was another picture. He pulled that one to the top of the pile and gazed at it. The third photo rested in a silver frame. Booth and Brennan were the only ones in this picture. They were sitting on the steps overlooking the Washington Monument at sunset. The scenery around them was beautiful, but Booth's eyes were immediately drawn to himself and Brennan. They were sitting close together, their legs almost touching, and each of them was holding a drink in one hand (Diet Coke for her, a blue raspberry Icee for him) and looking at each other with smiles on their faces. The bottom of this frame was engraved as well. It read "Seeley and Temperance – like Scully and Mulder." Booth looked up at her with a huge smile on his face, not unlike the one depicted in the photograph.

"I thought you didn't know what that means," he said, teasing her.

Brennan shrugged. "I Googled it."

Booth walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't hesitate and wrapped her own arms around him. In their minds, they both justified hugging the other like this as just another one of their "guy hugs," though lately those guy hugs had been slowly becoming longer and less and less like how two guys would hug each other.

"I love the pictures. Thank you," he said sincerely.

"You're welcome," she said softly.

They pulled back slightly, not breaking contact, and looked into each other's eyes. Booth was contemplating placing a soft kiss on her lips when a shriek came from the living room. Both adults immediately recognized it as the Parker-just-discovered-something-new squeal. The room had been quiet until Parker squealed. The sound of his loud voice startled Brennan, causing her to jump slightly in Booth's arms. He smiled and tightened his grip on her to steady her. After she got over the initial shock of the noise, Booth reluctantly let her go.

"Dr. Bones, come here!" he called.

Booth and Brennan entered the room to find Parker sitting among the contents of his astronomy set.

"What it is, Parker?" she asked, sitting on the floor near him.

"What's this do?" he asked, holding up a clear half-sphere with constellations and star patterns on it.

"This is to show you what the stars in the sky look like," Brennan explained. "You often can't see the stars due to bright city lights or the clouds in the sky, but this is what the sky would like without all of that." She reached for the big piece of his set that held the sun and the wires for the planets.

"How's it work?" he asked.

"You take the top half of the sun off," Brennan said as she did so. "Then you put this piece with the stars on it in its place, turn on the little light, and it'll project the stars onto your ceiling at night."

"Really?" Parker asked amazed.

"Yes, Parker. Really," Brennan confirmed.

For the second time that morning, the little boy threw himself into Brennan's arms, squeezing her tightly. This time, however, Brennan didn't hesitate and immediately hugged him back.

"Look! It's Goofy!" Parker yelled. He had spotted the Disney character in the television over Brennan's shoulder.

"What's goofy?" Brennan asked, looking around.

"The Disney character, Bones," Booth said, pointing to the TV.

"He's the best! Right, Daddy?" Parker said.

"He sure is, buddy," Booth agreed.

"Dr. Bones, do you have anything to drink?" Parker asked. "I'm thirsty."

"Of course I do. How's apple juice?" she replied.

"Okay," Parker agreed.

"I'll get it," Booth said, standing.

"What? No, I can…" Brennan said, standing as well. She wasn't sure about being left alone with the small child. Everyone knew that dealing with children didn't come naturally to her.

"You're doing _great_," he whispered to her as he walked by. Brennan could tell by the tone of his voice that he was completely sincere. She smiled at him in thanks and sat down on the couch.

"So you like spending Christmas with your dad?" she asked Parker.

"Ah-huh. Daddy's the _best_ at presents! He always gets me cool stuff and never, ever gets itchy sweaters or boring, not-fun stuff like that," Parker said.

"He is great at giving gifts," Brennan agreed, thinking of her little nieces' faces after seeing the tree.

"Dr. Bones?" he asked.

"Yes, Parker?"

"Are you Daddy's girlfriend?" Parker asked, eagerly. "Because I would really like that!"

"You would?" Brennan asked, surprised by his question. She silently wished Booth would come back soon so she wouldn't have to answer the little boy's question.

"Yeah. I like you _way_ better than Captain Fantastic."

"Parker," Booth said sternly, reentering the room. "What did I tell you about calling Brent Captain Fantastic?"

"That we shouldn't do it," Parker said, sadly. "Sorry, Daddy."

Parker took his juice from Booth's hand, and Brennan silently hoped that Parker wouldn't notice that his question about the state of their relationship had gone unanswered.

"It's okay, buddy, just don't do it again," Booth said. Parker nodded, and Booth sat down next to Brennan.

"So is Dr. Bones your girlfriend?" he asked again. Brennan and Booth looked at each other, and he could tell that she expected him to answer that.

Booth laughed nervously. "Uh, no, Parker. She's my partner at work, and she's one of my best friends."

Brennan smiled as he described her as one of his best friends, although Parker looked slightly disappointed by his answer.

"Fine," Parker pouted and went back to his toys.

Booth never quite knew how to describe his relationship with Brennan. They were partners and friends, of course, but they were more than that. He knew they were more than that, and he was fairly certain that she knew it, too. What he didn't know, however, was how to properly define what they were to each other. He glanced over at her and smiled as he saw her watching the Disney parade. She probably hadn't seen one of these since she was 13 or 14 years old at least.

Brennan sat on the couch watching the parade. She was enjoying it, even though she had absolutely no idea who Zac Efron or Ashley Tisdale were or why everyone in the world seemed to be so obsessed with one high school's simple musical production. As she watched the parade, she thought about her relationship with Booth. They were more than friends but less than lovers, that was for sure. She was also fairly certain that they both felt that way. How does one describe that kind of relationship to an outsider?

"Alright, buddy. We're going to have to leave in about half an hour to get to your mom's in time," Booth said as he noticed the time on Brennan's clock.

Brennan felt her stomach drop at Booth's words. She didn't want them to leave her yet. She was actually enjoying Christmas morning this year, and that was, no doubt, because she was sharing it with Booth and his son. When he and Parker left, she'd be all alone again.

"Aww…do we _have_ to?" Parker asked, whining. "Can't I stay with you and Dr. Bones all day?"

"I'm sorry, buddy. You know I wish you could, and I'm sure Bones would love for you to be able to stay as well."

"Is that true, Dr. Bones?" Parker asked.

Brennan had stood up to adjust the thermostat, noticing that the room had become increasingly colder. She was distracted by her task at hand, and her brain barely registered the fact that Parker was speaking to her.

"What, Parker? Oh, yes, of course, I'd love you for you and your father to be able to stay," she said. She was standing by the wall of her apartment and decided to take a peek outside while she was in proximity to a window. What she saw outside her red colored walls caused her mouth to drop open slightly.

"Hey, Booth?" Brennan said.

"Yeah, Bones?" he asked.

"I don't think you're going anywhere today."

* * *

_Up Next: Booth, Brennan, and Parker deal with being snowed in, and the Booth boys talk to Rebecca._


	5. Chapter 5

_It's pure coincidence that I decided to post this on the weekend that the entire country got hit with snow and cold weather, but I'm enjoying the irony of that. Glad I'm able to entertain all of you snowed in people!_

_Disclaimer can be found on the first four chapters. I think you all know I don't own Bones by now.

* * *

_

"We can stay?" Parker yelled with enthusiasm. _Please, please let the answer be yes!_ he thought.

Booth looked over at Brennan with a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean I'm not going anywhere? You gonna hold us hostage here, Bones?"

"No, I'm not, but the snow might," Brennan said, pulling back her curtains so the Booth boys could see.

Both boys joined her by the window. Parker pressed his face up against her window, leaving small breath marks on the cold glass. The snow was coming down a lot harder than before, and the other side of Brennan's street could just barely be seen through the white wall of snow outside. Booth looked down and couldn't even ascertain where the sidewalk ended and the actual road began. He couldn't hear any snow plows in the distance, and the snow showed no signs of slowing down. The sky was filled with gray clouds, causing Washington, DC to look dark and dreary, even though it was nearing noon. One glace outside and Booth realized immediately that there was no way he'd be able to drive safely in the current conditions.

Booth took a deep breath. "We're staying," he said, patting Parker's head.

"Yay!" he squealed, jumping up and down.

_My thoughts exactly_, Brennan thought. Instead of vocalizing her happiness at this unexpected, but definitely not unwelcome, circumstance, she just smiled as Parker grabbed her hand.

"Let's go play with your toy car," he said, attempting to drag her away from the window and Booth.

"Okay, Parker. We will. Just give me a minute to talk to your dad," Brennan said. Parker nodded and walked back over to the Christmas tree.

Booth stood by the window, staring out at the snow. He did not have a pleased expression on his face. Brennan looked at him, trying desperately to analyze what he was currently feeling. Was he upset about being trapped in her apartment? Had he been hoping to have some time with his son without her around? At that moment, she wished she had his profiling skills. Times like these made her wish she could read live people just as well as she understood the dead ones.

"Booth?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah?" he replied, still looking outside.

"Are you okay? I can tell you're upset," she said. "I'm sorry you're stuck here. I knew I was intruding."

"What?" he said, turning to look at her. "How could you even think you were intruding after all the fun we've been having this morning? I just…am not looking forward to telling Rebecca that Parker won't be making it to Vermont. At least not today, anyway."

"Oh," Brennan said. "Of course. I just thought…"

Booth cut her off before she could finish. "Temperance, I am not upset because we're snowed in here with you. I was actually going to ask if I could come back here after I finished dropping off Parker."

"Really?" she asked, surprised. She was pleased to hear that he was enjoying the prospect of spending the rest of the day with her.

"Yes," he said, grinning at her. "Hey, umm…do you think you could take Parker into your room or something while I call Rebecca? I don't really think he needs to hear his parents fighting."

"I agree, and it's no problem," Brennan said. She walked over to Parker and got down to his level to talk to him. A few seconds later, she helped him up and led him to her bedroom.

Booth sighed as Brennan gave him a sympathetic smile before closing the door to give him privacy. His heart was jumping for joy over getting to spend the whole day with his two favorite people in the entire world. His head, however, worried about keeping Parker entertained and out of trouble in Brennan's less-than-kid-friendly apartment and knew that his upcoming conversation with Rebecca would not be pleasant.

"Dr. Bones, what are we doing in here?" Parker asked, sitting on her bed.

"Your dad is calling your mom to tell her you're stuck here," Brennan said.

"Does that mean I definitely don't have to go skiing with Captain Fantastic?" Parker asked.

Brennan resisted the urge to smile. She couldn't believe that Booth had gotten his six-year-old into the habit of calling his mother's boyfriend 'Captain Fantastic.' Of course, the boy also insisted on calling her 'Dr. Bones,' so maybe he just simply shared his father's liking for nicknames.

But how was she supposed to answer that question? Obviously, Parker wouldn't be going to Vermont today, but how was she to know whether Rebecca and Brent would take him to Vermont after Booth could get Parker to them or not? She was silent as she figured out how to best answer the question without lying to him.

"It means you don't have to go today," she said honestly.

"You think I did this on purpose, Rebecca?" Booth said loudly from the living room. "I didn't order DC to have a blizzard today! I would _never_ deliberately keep Parker from you. _Especially_ not on Christmas! You should know that, Rebecca."

Just as Booth imagined, Rebecca was _not_ taking the news well. She then pointed out that she was watching coverage of the storm on the news right at that very moment, and according to the "always-accurate" weather person, the storm was just barely hitting the part of the city where Booth lived.

"I've got the news on, too, and I know my place isn't really into the storm yet, but Parker and I aren't at my place. … We're at Bones's place. … Dr. Brennan, yeah. … It's a long story, Rebecca, but she lives in the middle of the storm, and I promise you, it would not be safe for either me or Parker to try to drive," he said.

A couple minutes later, Booth knocked on Brennan's bedroom door. There was no answer, so he opened the door slowly and walked in to find Parker jumping up and down on Brennan's large bed. Brennan, however, was nowhere in sight. Booth's mind wondered where she had gone, but then realized that Bones probably wouldn't be too happy about his son jumping on her bed.

"Hey! Buddy, don't jump on Dr. Brennan's bed," Booth said, heading over to him. Parker bounced into a sitting position before Booth could pull him off of the mattress. "Where's Bones?"

"She's in the closet changing clothes," Parker said, pointing to Brennan's seemingly large walk-in closet.

"Here, your mom wants to talk to you," Booth said, handing over his cell phone. The little boy jumped up and grabbed the device.

"Hi, Mom!" he shrieked. He paused while Rebecca asked him a question. "I _love_ it at Dr. Bones's house!" That was all Booth heard of the conversation before Parker drifted out of hearing range and into the living room.

Booth looked around slowly. He felt a little weird being in Brennan's bedroom, especially since she wasn't currently in the room with him. He then noticed the extremely rumpled bed covers, no doubt caused by Parker's fervent jumping. He cringed and tried to smooth out some of the creases in her sheets, trying to hide the evidence.

"What are you doing?" Brennan asked. She had emerged from the closet only to discover Booth messing around with her bed covers. The sound of her voice startled him and he stumbled as he quickly turned around to face her.

"Oh, sorry, I was just… Parker had been jumping on the bed and I didn't know if you knew he was doing that or not, so I was trying to fix the covers just in case you didn't know, and…you look great," he said, flustered. Brennan had changed into a pair of dark, denim jeans that fit her perfectly, a white spaghetti-strapped top, and a burgundy sweater.

"Thanks," she said, slightly thrown off by the compliment. "And don't worry about the bed, Booth. He's just a kid, and they're just bed sheets. It's fine."

Brennan walked behind him and picked up the sheets on her bed. She began to properly make the bed as Booth turned around and watched her, still feeling kind of awkward in her bedroom.

"You could've stayed in your pajamas, you know. It is Christmas," Booth assured her.

"I know I didn't have to change, but I felt weird wearing pajamas while you and Parker are both fully dressed," Brennan said. "I also don't mind you being in here, so you can relax."

Booth laughed nervously before sitting down on the edge of her newly-made bed. She joined him by sitting at the foot of the bed.

"So, uh, awkward question, but seeing as how it's almost noon, I think this needs to be asked. Parker's going to be getting hungry soon. You do have some kid-friendly food in this place, right?" Booth asked.

"Of course I have food, Booth. I have to eat, too," Brennan said.

"Well, obviously, you have to eat, but I didn't ask you if you had _food_ in this place. I asked if you had _kid-friendly_ food in this place."

"What's the difference?"

"A six-year-old is not going to eat that organic, vegetarian stuff you eat, Bones."

"Why not? It's healthy!"

"Kids don't care about healthy."

"Well, they should. For the first time in history, today's children have a life expectancy that's shorter than that of their parents'. If kids cared more about what they put into their bodies, maybe that would change," Brennan said.

"Bones, I'm serious," Booth said.

"I'm sure we can find _something_ he'll eat, Booth. I at least have salad stuff. He'll eat that, right?" she asked.

Booth just chuckled. "Bones, _I_ may not eat that."

At that moment, Parker ran back into her bedroom. Booth and Brennan were sitting on her bed, facing each other. Both of them wore their usual argument expressions on their faces. Booth silently realized how silly he was for thinking he and Brennan could get through Christmas without bickering about _something_. Parker handed the cell phone back to Booth, oblivious of the irritated looks on their faces.

"Daddy, does Dr. Brennan mind us calling her Bones?" Parker asked.

"What?" Booth asked. "Why would you ask that?"

"Mommy asked if I was having fun, and I told her hanging out with you and Dr. Bones was real fun, and she told me it was mean to call Dr. Brennan that," Parker explained. He turned to look at Brennan. "I told her you liked it and didn't mind at all, but she said it's mean anyway, and I shouldn't do it."

Brennan leaned down to look into his eyes. "How about you address me as Dr. Brennan when your mom's around, but when it's just us, you can call me Bones," she suggested.

"Okay," Parker said, liking that answer.

"How'd Rebecca take the news?" she asked Booth.

"Not good. She said I was 'doing it on purpose,'" Booth said.

"Did you tell her that it's scientifically impossible for one person to cause a potentially catastrophic act of nature such as a blizzard?" Brennan asked.

"Not in so many words, but yes, I did," Booth said. She could be such a Squint sometimes. He looked at Parker, who was smiling brightly. "You're not upset about missing the ski trip at all, are you?"

"Are you kidding? Dr. Bones is _much_ cooler than Captain Fant- Brent," Parker said, catching his mistake.

"Did you hear that? I'm cool," Brennan said, delighted that Parker thought so highly of her.

"So, Dr. Bones, what are we going to do all day?" Parker asked.

* * *

_Next Up: Brennan attempts to feed and entertain a six-year-old. _

_Why don't you go ahead and hit that button to leave a review. You know you want to..._


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are great!_

_Now, like Brennan, I have no idea how to entertain a six-year-old, either, lol. The last time I think I was even around a six-year-old was 8 years ago when my sister was that age. So I hope you guys enjoy these next few chapters because I kinda just made up activities that sounded like a kid would be interested in._

_Disclaimers on the first few chapters, and please leave a review if you have the time!

* * *

_Booth looked at his partner, eager to hear her answer to Parker's question. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried about Parker getting a bit bored in Brennan's apartment. He had several new toys to play with, yes, but Brennan's apartment was more adult than Booth's and, therefore, had less room for Parker to play. Her apartment also had a lot more irreplaceable, breakable items than his did. He was also slightly worried about Brennan herself. He knew she wasn't too terribly fond of kids, and she had been doing great with Parker so far, but he wasn't sure if she'd be able to take a whole day, or possibly more, with a little boy. Booth personally thought Brennan was pretty good with kids for a woman who had no desire to be a mother, but he suspected that she had a limit to how much she could deal with.

Brennan hesitated at Parker's question. What were they going to _do_ all day? Was he _serious_? He had just received at least a dozen new toys or presents, two of them from her, and the kid was _already_ bored? She couldn't believe that kids had that short of an attention span. She had read several scientific articles about the rise of ADD and how children's attention spans were increasingly growing shorter and shorter, but the fact that Parker may already be bored seemed ridiculous to her.

Parker's question also caused her to inwardly panic a little. What _were_ they going to do all day? She had no idea how to entertain a child! She wasn't very good at entertaining her peers, either, so she knew entertaining a child would definitely be a challenge for her. She looked at Booth, who was staring at her, waiting for her answer.

Booth watched as Brennan turned to look at him. Panic was written all over her face and her eyes silently pleaded with him for help, not just with answering this question, but with keeping Parker busy and happy for at least the rest of the day. He winked at her to tell her he would take care of it, and she instantly looked relieved. Booth turned to Parker.

"Don't worry, Parker. I'm sure we'll find lots of fun stuff to do today," Booth assured him.

"Can we start with lunch?" Parker asked. "I'm hungry."

"Sure. Let's do lunch," Booth said. "Why don't you go back to the living room and keep watching the parade and leave the meal fixing to us? I changed the channel to a weather report, but you know how to change it back."

"Okay," Parker agreed.

Parker headed for the couch while Booth and Brennan headed for her kitchen. After twenty long minutes of "Parker won't eat that, Bones," and "Have you ever even _met_ a six-year-old before?" (which was, of course, followed by Brennan's very literal response of "Of course I have. Yours is currently sitting on my couch,") Booth managed to find all the ingredients needed to make grilled cheese sandwiches scattered around Brennan's kitchen. He wasn't so sure how the whole-wheat bread would be received, but maybe Parker wouldn't notice.

"Parker, come in here for lunch, please!" Brennan called.

Parker ran into the kitchen and discovered that the seats to Brennan's counter were too high to him to climb onto by himself. Booth lifted him into the chair and handed him his sandwich. Parker took a large bite, not noticing that the bread was brown instead of white.

"Mmm…this is good!" Parker said. Both Booth and Brennan looked relieved.

Booth sat down on Parker's right side, biting into a sandwich as well. Brennan sat to Parker's left, eating a homemade fruit salad. Parker eagerly told Brennan all about life in the first grade, and he asked several questions about Brennan's job as a forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonian Institution. She, thankfully, left out most of the gory details while answering his questions.

"Your job doesn't sound anything like Daddy's," Parker eventually concluded. "Why do you work together if your jobs are so different?"

"They are extremely different, Parker, but we both need each other to do our jobs completely and efficiently," Brennan said.

"That's right," Booth agreed. "She and her squints examine the bodies to figure out how and when the victim died. Then Dr. Bones and I work together, using those clues that they find on the bodies to figure out who the bad guy is, and then I catch the bad guy and throw him or her in jail."

"Cool! You guys are like superheroes," Parker exclaimed.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other over top of Parker's head, and both could see that the other clearly loved being compared to a superhero.

"All done!" Parker yelled after swallowing the last bite of his sandwich. "Where's the candy?"

"Umm, I don't think you'll find any of that here, Parker," Booth said.

"No chocolate?" he asked, sadly. "But what about dessert?"

"I have…chocolate chips. Butterscotch ones, too, I think," Brennan remembered.

"You do?" Booth asked. "Why?"

"I was thinking about making this dessert that my mom always made for me and Russ around Christmas time. I bought all of the ingredients but never made it," she explained.

"Let's make it now!" Parker squealed.

"You don't even know what it is," Booth pointed out.

"Okay, what is it?" Parker asked.

"My mom always called them spiders. They're actually pretty simple to make. You pour all the chips into a bowl and put it in the microwave to melt them. Then you pour the melted chocolate mixture into a big mixing bowl and mix it with a bag of Chinese chow mien noodles," Brennan told him.

"Then what?" Parker asked.

"Then, you use a spoon to divide up the mixture into snack sizes and put them into the refrigerator so the chocolate can harden and dry."

"Let's make them now!" Parker exclaimed. "Can we?"

"If it's okay with your dad, I don't have a problem with it," Brennan said. Parker turned to Booth and looked at him with big, wide eyes, and a huge smile.

"Go ahead, but try not to get too messy," Booth said.

Brennan, with Parker's help, quickly gathered everything they would need. She cut the tops off of the two bags of chips and handed them to Parker. He poured both bags into a microwavable bowl and stole a handful of chips from the top.

"I saw that," Brennan said.

"Saw what?" he asked sweetly.

Brennan chose to ignore it and move on. She placed the bowl into the microwave and put a few minutes onto the timer. Booth helped Parker pour the chow mien noodles into a large mixing bowl.

Once the chocolate and butterscotch chips were melted, Brennan carefully poured the mixture into the mixing bowl. Parker held onto the spoon and she held onto the bowl with one hand and Parker's arm with her other as she helped him mix everything together.

Booth watched the pair make the dessert, and he smiled. He never thought he'd see his Bones acting so motherly. The picture in front of him, of Temperance helping his son, like a mother would, was definitely appealing to him. His eyes traveled from his son to his partner, and he noticed that she had stopped watching Parker's movements and had begun staring at the tree and the gifts in her living room.

"Hey, Parker, give me a minute with Bones, okay?" Booth said.

"Okay, Dad," Parker agreed and left the kitchen.

Booth walked over to Brennan and took her hands gently in his own.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. It's just…Christmas and my parents. You know the story. I normally don't do anything for Christmas, so I don't have to think about it any more than I would any other day. You and Parker being here, celebrating Christmas…it's making me think about it," she said, a few tears finally spilling onto her rosy cheeks.

Booth released her hands and cupped her face in his palms. He used his thumbs to gently brush the tears off of her cheeks. He couldn't be certain, but he thought he felt her lean into his touch.

"I finally opened those presents, you know?" she said.

"Which presents?" he asked her.

"The ones from my parents. The ones I told Russ I wouldn't open until Mom and Dad came back."

"You did? When?"

"Two years ago when we got quarantined in the Jeffersonian. After you and Parker left, I went back to the lab and pulled them out."

Booth was about to tell her how proud he was of her for being able to open those gifts and how he knows that must have been hard for her when Parker returned.

"I'm pretty sure it's been a minute," he said. "Is the dessert done?"

"It's not going to be done for a while. The chocolate has to harden, remember?" Brennan said.

"Will it be ready by dinner?" Parker asked.

Brennan froze at his question. _Dinner. They're snowed in. I'm going to have to find _more_ kid-friendly food for him to eat. And, oh my goodness, are they going to be here all night? Of course they're going to be here all night, they're _snowed in_! Who knows when they're going to be able to get out? Relax, Brennan, you live in an apartment with _two_ bedrooms. It's not like Booth and Parker are going to have to sleep in your bed with you_, she thought.

"They should be," Brennan answered, forcing herself back into reality.

"So what do we do now?" Parker asked.

"Does he always expect every second of his day to be planned out for him?" Brennan quietly asked Booth.

"Yeah, pretty much," Booth responded just as quietly. "Rebecca tends to keep him on a pretty tight schedule."

"What are you guys talking about?" Parker asked.

"Adult stuff. You know, boring shop talk. You wouldn't be interested, but if you're up for it, I've got one more surprise for you," Booth said.

"What? What?" Parker asked, jumping up and down.

Brennan noticed that in addition to having a short attention span, Parker also seemed to have a small short-term memory. She never would've simply accepted and forgotten the 'adult stuff' answer when she was a child.

"Go sit with Dr. Brennan in the living room. I have to go get your surprise out of the car," Booth said.

"Come on, Dr. Bones!" Parker said to Brennan.

"What are you doing?" Brennan asked Booth.

"You'll see. Now, go sit," Booth said, quickly exiting the apartment.

* * *

_For those of you wondering, the spiders dessert I had them make is actually real, I didn't make it up. My family makes them every year around Christmas time, (though it doesn't have to specifically be a Christmas dessert) and they're delicious! If anyone's interested in trying them, I pretty much gave you all the instructions in this chapter._

_Next Up: Booth reveals his surprise, and Brennan gets a call from Angela (because she's just too fun to not include her in this story.)_


	7. Chapter 7

_So I was going to post this before I went to school this morning, but stupid me set my alarm for 8:30 PM instead of AM, so I had ten minutes to get ready this morning, lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it!_

_As always, disclaimer is on the first few chapters, and I love reviews!

* * *

_Brennan and Parker sat on her couch, patiently waiting for Booth to return. One of them was definitely more patient than the other, as the little boy couldn't contain his obvious enthusiasm over potentially getting another Christmas present. Parker was unable to sit still, and Brennan gently rocked back and forth as Parker's jumpy movements caused the whole couch to shake.

"Do you know what he went to get?" Parker finally asked her.

"I have no idea, Parker," she answered.

"Is that the truth?"

"I wouldn't lie to you."

"Really?"

"Really. Adults shouldn't lie to kids. It's just not right."

"I agree," Parker said.

"I'm back!" Booth called as he shut and locked her front door.

"Yay! What'd you bring?" Parker asked.

Booth entered the room carrying a small, black duffel bag in one of his hands. He looked at his son.

"I was going to give you this before you left for Vermont, but seeing as how that's not happening now, here you go," Booth said, pulling out a fluffy, red and white stocking full of treats. It was labeled with Parker's name in big, gold letters. "Merry Christmas, Parker."

Parker gasped in delight as he moved into the floor so he could dump out the contents of the stocking. Booth sat down on the arm of the couch that was closest to Brennan and put the bag at his feet.

"And I was going to give you yours when I got back from taking Parker to his mom's," Booth said, pulling out another fluffy red stocking.

"Booth," she said with wide eyes. "You didn't have to…"

"Of course I didn't _have_ to, Temperance. I _wanted_ to," Booth said. "It's Christmas, Bones. You need a stocking."

"But you weren't even planning on coming over here this morning, and this looks like you put some effort into it."

"So?"

"So how did you know you'd see me today? When were you planning on giving it to me?"

"Well, maybe I was planning on stopping by here today after I dropped Parker off with Rebecca," Booth revealed.

"You were?" Brennan asked.

"Parker wasn't the only one who didn't want you to be alone on Christmas."

She smiled and took the red and white stocking from his hands. It was just like the one she had had as a little girl. Thick, gold stitching was woven into the white section, spelling out her name. She traced the letters with her fingertip carefully before peeking inside.

Booth sat on the arm of couch watching the pair dig into their stockings. Just as Brennan had noticed, he had put quite a bit of effort into them and was glad that both Parker and Brennan seemed to be enjoying them. Parker's was filled with small toys, Reese's cups shaped like trees, Snickers candy, and a scarf and glove set for him to use while skiing, while Brennan got peppermint candy canes, little candles that smelled of apple cinnamon, small bath gels and lotions, and little chocolates. Her lips curved into a small smile as she emptied Booth's latest gift to her.

"Do you like them?" Booth asked.

"It's awesome, Dad!" Parker said.

"How about you?" he asked, looking at Brennan.

"I love it, Booth. Thank you," she said softly as she placed everything back into the stocking.

"You're welcome, Bones," he said, sliding onto the couch next to her.

The pair turned their attention to Parker. Brennan slipped one of the chocolates into her mouth and fixed her gaze on the older of the Booth boys. He looked happy as he watched his son delight in his surprise. She turned back towards Parker and let her mind wander to some Christmas memories she had from the time when she was a little girl. She and Russ would sit in the floor, just as Parker was doing, and open their gifts. Her parents would sit on the couch and watch them, just as she and Booth were doing now with Parker. She also recalled the fact that her father would always wrap his arm around her mother while they watched their children open their gifts.

Brennan looked at Booth's face and secretly wished that he would reach over and hold her like her father used to hold her mother. Temperance then realized what she was doing and silently scolded herself for letting one little kiss and one simple, but beautiful, tree affect her so much.

_That kiss was nothing_, she told herself for the thousandth time since it had happened. _Just a little favor between friends and coworkers. Nothing more. Stop wishing it would happen again._

Brennan was so caught up in her mental rollercoaster ride that she missed the sound of her house phone ringing. It was on the table by Booth, so he casually reached over and picked it up.

"Dr. Brennan's phone," Booth answered, snapping Brennan back into reality. "Oh, hey, Angela. How are you and Hodgins doing?"

"Booth," Brennan said, reaching for the phone.

"Yeah, she's right here," Booth said, passing the phone to Brennan.

"Angela?" Brennan asked. She walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

"Sweetie! What is Booth doing there?" Angela asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Brennan said.

"Well, I was calling to make sure a.) that you were at home and not snowed in at _the lab_ and b.) that you weren't too lonely today, but now I see that _Seeley's_ keeping you company," she said, suggestively.

Brennan laid back width-wise onto her bed, her legs dangling over the edge. "It's not like that, Ange. Booth's son is here, too."

"Oh," Angela said disappointed. "Oh well. They probably won't be able to get home tonight, which means they'll have to stay there, and the kid's gotta go to sleep eventually."

"Angela!"

"Sweetie, it's Christmas, and you and Booth are snowed in together. Kid or no kid, that's pretty damn romantic."

"Well, yes, I suppose that the setting could be described as romantic, but Booth and I are partners. We're professionals. There has to be a line," Brennan said, recalling what Booth had told her the previous year.

"Yeah, yeah," Angela said, and Brennan could just picture her rolling her eyes. "Listen, Tempe, you and I both know that 'line' stuff is just a bunch of crap. Booth likes you, Bren."

"No, he doesn't," she said. "Not like that."

"Yes, he does," Angela insisted. "Take advantage of the situation. Just kiss him. _One_ kiss. You may actually enjoy it."

Little did Angela know that she had already kissed Booth once this holiday season, and, as much as she didn't want Caroline, or anyone else, for that matter, to know, she very much enjoyed it and was secretly dying to do it again without the puckish spectator and her 'amusing' blackmail.

"If the right moment arises, I suppose I could consider it," Brennan said.

"'Atta girl," Angela said. "So how long has he been there anyway?"

"Since about eight this morning," she answered. "Parker didn't want to leave me alone on Christmas."

"Oh my God, how cute is that?" Angela said. "Wait a minute. Isn't Parker only five or six years old?"

"Yes, he's six."

"Oh my God, Bren. What in the world are _you_ doing with a kid?"

"I think I've been doing pretty well. We opened presents and made a dessert that my mother used to make. To be honest, I'm amazed he's not bored yet," Brennan confessed.

Angela giggled. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun. You definitely deserve it."

"Thanks. How's Hodgins?"

"Great. We're both enjoying having the mansion completely to ourselves," Angela said. Just as Angela finished her sentence, Hodgins entered the room. "Speak of the devil."

"Lunch is finally ready, Angie. Do you wanna go downstairs or eat it in bed?" he asked.

"Mmm…in bed," Angela answered. "Hey, say hi to Brennan." She clicked on the speaker phone.

"Hi, Brennan," Hodgins said.

"Hi, Hodgins," Brennan replied.

"You're not at the Jeffersonian, are you?" Hodgins asked.

"No, she's at her apartment with Booth," Angela answered for her.

"Booth?" Hodgins asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he's snowed in," Angela continued before Brennan could get a word in.

"Nice going, Brennan," Hodgins replied. "I always knew it would happen eventually."

"It's not like that!" Brennan protested. "And I think you've been spending too much time with Angela."

"Booth's son is there, too," Angela filled in after noticing Hodgins confused face.

"Wait, Brennan's got a _kid_ at her place?" Hodgins asked. Angela nodded. "How's that going, Brennan?"

"It's not that bad so far," Brennan admitted.

Brennan heard a quiet knocking at her door. She sat up a bit so she could see the doorway and saw a small, blonde head peeking through her door.

"Dr. Bones, are you _ever_ coming back?" Parker asked.

"I'll be right there," she promised. Parker nodded and shut the door. Brennan turned back to the phone. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Did he just call you Dr. Bones?" Angela asked.

"Yes," Brennan laughed.

"Like father, like son," she giggled.

"Exactly. I think I'm being summoned, Ange," she said.

"Of course. Go back to your boys."

"They are not _my_ boys."

"Merry Christmas, Bren," Angela said.

"Merry Christmas," Hodgins added.

"You too. Have a great day, guys," Brennan replied.

"We will, and remember, Bren. _Kiss him_. Booth's not going to wait forever, sweetie."

* * *

_Coming Soon: Brennan considers Angela's advice, and Booth finds Christmas music hidden in her CD collection._


	8. Chapter 8

_I know you all want Booth and Brennan to kiss, but you have the remember, these entire 7 chapters have only taken place during about half a day so far, so I may have to keep you guys hanging just a bit longer…_

_Again, if I owned Bones, you'd be seeing this on the show, and please leave a review if you have the time!

* * *

_Brennan emerged from her bedroom to find Booth showing Parker how to control the remote-controlled car that he had given her. She placed the phone back into its charger and felt the toy vehicle gently run into her ankle. She glanced down at the car and then looked up to see both of the Booth boys giggling and smiling like they were _both_ six years old. Booth was holding the controls.

She smirked at him and snatched the controls from his hands. She stared at it for a second, having no idea what any of the buttons did or how to make the car move in the direction she wanted it to travel. Just as Booth started to move towards her to help, Brennan figured it out and turned the car on Booth. He yelped in surprise and hopped out of the way as Parker giggled.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Booth asked. Parker nodded, giggling.

Booth grabbed the controls from Brennan and turned the car on Parker. He screamed and began running around Brennan's apartment to escape. Booth kept the car on his tail, but he was afraid of tripping Parker, so he made sure not to run the car into his feet.

Brennan quietly slid onto the couch to get out of the way. She leaned into the back of the couch and watched father and son play. She watched the little boy gleefully run around her living room, squealing out of fear of being hit by the car. He circled the couch a few times before throwing himself onto the cushions and landing almost directly on Brennan.

"Oh!" Brennan exclaimed as Parker landed on her. "Parker!"

"Sorry," he said, quickly. He turned to his father. "You can't hurt me now, Daddy! I'm with Dr. Bones, and she can kick your butt."

"That's right, Parker," Brennan said, proudly. "I can."

"I highly doubt that," Booth said.

"Come on, Booth. I could take you."

"Uh, no. You couldn't."

"Yes, I could."

"No, you couldn't."

"Care to test that theory?" she challenged.

"Excuse me?" he replied.

"Until we test that hypothesis with a logical experiment, that statement is merely conjecture. You have no concrete evidence or proof that what you just stated is actually true," Brennan said.

"Okay, we're not at the Jeffersonian, don't talk like a squint," Booth said, with a playful tone of voice. "And I'm _not_ going to fight you, Bones."

"Because you know you'll lose?"

"No, because you're a girl." Booth knew it was the wrong thing to say the second the words left his lips.

"So?" she asked, her eyes wide from his implied accusation that a girl couldn't possibly beat a man in a fight.

"So…I don't hit girls. Sorry."

"Oh, you won't hit me. I promise," she said with confidence in her eyes and a grin on her face.

"Nope. Sorry. Not gonna happen," Booth said.

"Why not?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Brennan added, crossing her arms.

"Because, Parker, boys shouldn't hit girls. Plus, I only fight bad guys, and Dr. Bones is not a bad guy," Booth explained to both his son and the 31-year-old anthropologist, who, at this moment, was acting fairly similar to his son.

Brennan sat on the couch, pouting because Booth wouldn't fight her. Typical alpha male. Always thinking he'll come out to be the superior one in everything.

"Besides, Parker," Booth continued. "I could never hurt Dr. Bones because she's my partner, and I like her too much, and even though she probably won't admit it, she could never hurt me, either."

"Really?" Parker asked, looking at Brennan. She smiled and shrugged playfully.

"So what do we do now?" Parker asked for the fourth or fifth time that day. Brennan was really beginning to hate that question. Booth noticed her irritated expression and, once again, saved her from having to answer.

"Christmas music, Bones?" he asked.

"Mmm…I may have a Christmas CD over there," she said, nodding her head towards her CD collection. "I think Angela gave me one once."

Booth walked over to her many CDs and carefully looked at each title. _Please, God, let her have Christmas music_, he thought. He had left his in his apartment and honestly had no other ideas for how to entertain Parker.

"Ah-ha!" Booth declared, triumphantly pulling out a CD. "I found Christmas music!"

He placed the CD into her player and pushed play. _Jingle Bells_ was the first song on the disc, and the music quickly filled the apartment.

Brennan laid back on the couch once again as she watched Booth and his son enthusiastically sing the Christmas classic. Both moved back and forth, dancing to the tune. At times, Booth would pick Parker up and spin him around. He got a thrilled look on his face as Parker gleefully squealed every time he was twirled through the air.

_Jingle Bells_ ended and a slow Christmas ballad took its place. Booth looked over at Brennan and held out his hand.

"Dance with me, Bones?" he asked.

She looked at his hand, then up at his face, seeing hope in his eyes. She contemplated his offer for a few moments, and then grabbed his hand and stood up, moving with him to the center of the room.

They kept their hands linked together and turned to face each other. Booth gently placed his other hand on the small of her back as her hand came up to rest lightly on his shoulder. Parker stood off to the side of the room. He watched them closely and held back, giving them room to sway to the music. Booth and Brennan stood extremely close to each other as they began to dance.

Booth tried desperately to focus on the lyrics of the song, but he couldn't take his mind off the fact that he and Brennan were dangerously close to one another. If either of them even slightly shifted towards the other, their bodies would be completely pressed together, and Booth wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle that. He held her tightly while allowing her to still keep her distance and gently swayed with her to the music.

Brennan, too, tried to focus on the song, but all she could think about was how perfectly her hand fit into Booth's larger one. She completely forgot about the little boy who was watching them, and put all her strength into keeping her fingers on Booth's shoulder and out of his hair. She always had a tendency to lead when she danced with a man, but with Booth, she was content to rest in his arms and allow him to gently move her back and forth to the slow rhythm of the song.

Brennan's eyes traveled up Booth's face. Her blue eyes met his chocolate brown ones, and his lips curved into a small grin as he began to make small circles on her back against her sweater. Her mouth dropped open a bit in surprise as she felt his fingers dancing against her back and then curved into a small smile that matched his. Her face reassured him that she wasn't going to slap him for touching her like that, so he continued his movements against her clothing. He wanted to reach below her shirt and touch her skin, but he was almost positive that she would _definitely_ slap him for doing that. Their eyes remained locked together as they continued to dance.

_Is this my moment?_ Brennan thought as Angela's words ran through her mind.

She wasn't very good with knowing who should make the first move or when that move should be made, but she didn't want to miss her opportunity. She quickly assessed the situation and decided that it was definitely the right moment. Just as Brennan took a step closer to Booth, getting ready to pull his lips down to meet hers, the song ended and the next, a faster tune, began.

Booth watched her closely and could tell she was carefully thinking about something. He couldn't imagine what was causing her to think so hard at that particular moment. Booth wished that, for once, she could just relax her mind and be in the moment with him. He felt her take a step towards them, pressing their bodies together, and he thought he could feel her begin to move her hand towards the hair at the base of his neck. Just as she began to move her hand from his shoulder, their song ended and one with a faster beat began to play.

The new, quick beat shattered Brennan's bravery, and she quickly stepped back, releasing his hand from hers. Booth was about to reach for her hand to begin a second dance when Parker interfered.

"Daddy, I wanna dance with Tempe, too," Parker said, grabbing Brennan's hand.

"Tempe?" she asked, thrown off by hearing her real name.

"Daddy said that's your name," Parker said.

"Well, yes, it is," Brennan replied.

"It's what he said this morning while he was dreaming about you," Parker said, nodding.

"I…huh?" Brennan said, flustered. She couldn't believe, genius that she was, that _that_ was all that had managed to come out of her mouth. She looked over at Booth. He was clearly embarrassed and seemed to be unable to look her in the eyes.

"I walked in to wake him up for presents, and he was sleeping, and he said your name," Parker explained. "Except he didn't say 'Bones,' he called you Tempe."

"You did?" Brennan asked Booth.

"Uhh…yeah…maybe," Booth said, quietly. "I think I'll go put that frozen pizza we found earlier in the oven. You know, get dinner going."

Booth quickly exited the room, and Brennan watched him walk out, a look of bewilderment on her face. Parker grabbed both of her hands and began shaking her arms up and down.

"Tempe, let's dance," Parker said. "Is it okay if I call you Tempe?"

"Yes, of course," she replied as she began to dance with Booth's son.

_Booth was dreaming about me?_ she thought. _Like in the way I was dreaming about him?_

Brennan was the first to admit that she wasn't too great with understanding live people, but even she knew that Booth seemed awfully eager to get away from her and Parker just a few seconds ago, possibly out of guilt. She glanced towards the kitchen as she spun around with Parker, and noticed that Booth was watching them. She couldn't keep eye contact with him, seeing as how Parker almost immediately spun her around again, but at least he was watching them and not just hiding in her kitchen.

Booth placed the pizza in the oven and set the timer, silently cursing his son. Why'd he have to go and tell Brennan that he'd been dreaming about her? _Especially _when it seemed like Brennan might have been thinking about kissing him! He stood near the counter and looked out over the living room. It had been an interesting day so far, to say the least, and he had no idea where the evening would take them, but for now, in that moment, he was just happy to watch his beautiful partner, the same woman who claims to not want or be any good with children, smile and laugh as she danced with his son.

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_Up Next: Brennan and the Booth boys get ready for bed. _


	9. Chapter 9

_Some of you were excited about seeing how the sleeping arrangements were going to work out, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Also, some of you asked whether I had a specific song in mind for the dancing scene last chapter, and I was thinking about the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" but decided not to specify because it could work with any slow Christmas tune._

_Disclaimer can be found on the first few chapters. You all know where the review button is by now :)

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_After dinner, Parker had declared that he wanted to watch the movie Brennan had given him earlier that day. They quickly cleaned up the table after their meal and moved to the couch. Parker sat between them as Booth handled control of the DVD player. Parker delighted in the movie, giggling and clapping every time one of the penguins went surfing. Despite the frivolity of the movie, Brennan found herself enjoying it as well.

The movie ended just after eight-thirty, and Parker was beginning to yawn. Booth glanced out the window, and Brennan walked up next to him to look out as well. It was snowing. They were going to have to stay there overnight. Angela would be so pleased.

"So…" Booth said. "How is this going to work?"

"I have a guest room," Brennan told him. "I'll need a few minutes to get it set up, though."

"That's fine. Parker needs a bath anyway."

"You'll find everything you need in the closet behind the bathroom door," Brennan said.

"Great. Thanks," he said. "Look, Bones, I'm sorry we took over your whole day. I had no idea…"

"Stop," Brennan said, cutting him off. "You have nothing to apologize for. Of course you didn't know that you'd get snowed in, and I didn't exactly have plans anyway. Hell, I'd probably be stuck at the lab right now if you hadn't come over this morning."

Booth smiled. "I knew it." She smiled at him.

"Does Parker need a t-shirt or something to sleep in?" she asked.

"Nah, my mom gets us pajamas every year. We're covered. I'll dig them out of the present piles."

Brennan nodded, and Booth walked over to where Parker lay on the couch.

"Are we going home, Daddy?" Parker asked.

"Nope, we're snowed in. We can't leave yet. We have to spend the night here with Bones," Booth said.

"Cool, it's like a slumber party," Parker giggled.

"Come on, bub. It's bath time," Booth said, holding out his hand.

"Aww…do I have to?"

"Yeah, Parker, let's go."

Brennan smiled at the child's reluctance to take a bath and watched them leave the room. She entered her guest bedroom and made the queen-sized bed with a pair of dark blue sheets. She adjusted the temperature and walked into her living room. Brennan could hear splashing from behind her bathroom door, and she settled on the couch, deciding to flip through the anthropology book she had given Booth earlier that morning.

Booth emerged from the bathroom about ten minutes later and found Brennan lying on her couch. She seemed completely invested in that anthropology book. He chuckled, knowing that she probably could've written the thing herself, and she glanced up, startled by his voice.

"Learning something new?" he asked, leaning against her wall.

"Hardly. This is pretty basic stuff," she said, smiling. "You know Zack and I expect you to read this, right?"

"Is there going to be a quiz, Dr. Brennan?" he asked with wide eyes and a mocking tone.

"No," she said, not understanding that he was only kidding.

He smiled. "How about you just write everything you want me to know about anthropology in your next book, and I'll just read that instead?"

"I still kind of can't believe those books sell so well," she said.

"Hey, Bones, don't sell yourself short. Those books are great!"

"Thanks," she said. "I guess I'm surprised by their success because they're filled with 'squint speak,' as you would call it."

"Then you should be proud of the fact that you're probably educating thousands of people," he said. He began to move towards her but struggled to get through all of the wrapping paper and gifts. "God, we made a mess."

"It's okay," she replied.

"I'll clean this up," he promised.

"I'm capable of cleaning my own living room," she said.

"Of course you are, Bones, but I made the mess, I'll clean it up, and Parker will help," he insisted.

"If you insist," Brennan conceded.

"I do," Booth said.

On that note, Parker opened the door of the bathroom wearing his new space-themed pajamas. He yawned and walked over to Booth.

"Daddy, I'm sleepy," he said.

"I know, bub," he said, picking him up. He turned to Brennan. "Is the room ready?"

"Follow me," she said. The pair walked to the guest room, with Parker sleepily resting in Booth's arms.

"Say goodnight to Bones, Parker," Booth said.

"'Night, Dr. Bones," he said, reaching for her. Brennan walked over to him and Booth and allowed Parker to wrap his arms around her neck.

"Goodnight, Parker," she said as he pulled away.

"Wanna take your turn in the bathroom while I put him to bed?" Booth asked her.

"Sounds good," Brennan said and exited the room.

"Hey, let's get you in bed," Booth said, laying Parker onto the mattress.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Parker asked. Booth pulled the covers up to Parker's chest.

"In here with you, but I'm not sleepy yet, so I'll be back later," Booth explained.

"Okay, Daddy."

"I love you, Parker."

"Love you, too," he said.

Booth turned off the light and exited the room, leaving the door slightly cracked, as Parker drifted off to sleep.

Almost two hours later, Brennan sat in her bed with the covers pulled up to her waist. Her laptop rested on her lap as she typed a new chapter for her next novel. Other than her nearest bedside lamp, her room was dark. She had lost track of time and had ended up spending a very long time relaxing in her warm bath and thinking about the day's events. Her damp hair hung loose around her shoulders, and she was dressed in a fitted, blue, sleep t-shirt and pajama pants.

"Tempe," she heard a little voice say. She looked up from her laptop and saw Parker in her doorway. Tears were rolling down his face.

"Parker, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I had a scary dream, Tempe," he cried, walking to the edge of her bed. "And Sparky's at Daddy's house!"

"What's Sparky?"

"My stuffed dog. Daddy gave him to me and said he'll protect me at night, but Sparky's not here!" Parker cried.

Brennan saved her work and set her computer next to her lamp by the bed. She had no idea what to do with a terrified, crying six-year-old. Damn Booth. Of course he had to be in the shower when this happened.

"Parker, umm…your dad is in the shower right now, but he'll be back really soon," Brennan said, awkwardly. That didn't work. Parker continued to cry. Brennan sighed. "Okay, Parker, help me out. I'm not usually around kids. What do you need me to do?"

"Can I sleep in here with you, Tempe?" he asked.

Brennan took a deep breath. "Uh…sure. Hop in."

She pulled back the covers and let the little boy climb into bed next to her. Parker immediately curled up into her body, crying into her stomach. She hadn't expected him to do that.

"Oh, umm…okay. Hang on," she said. She slid into a more reclining position and held Parker close to her.

"It was a really scary dream!" he cried. His voice was muffled against Brennan's clothing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. He shook his head no. "Okay, that's okay. You're alright."

Brennan gently ran her long fingers through his blonde hair to soothe him. His small arm clung to her tightly as his breathing began to even out. Brennan smiled and sighed a sigh of relief when she realized she had soothed Parker back to sleep.

Brennan could feel the young boy's gentle, even breathing against her side, and it was slowly lulling her to sleep as well. She rubbed Parker's back gently, continuing to soothe him in case he was still having scary dreams. Just as her eyes were closing, she heard Booth's footsteps outside her door.

"Brennan! Where's my ki…" Booth's voice trailed off as he entered her room and found his kid sleeping peacefully by her side.

"Shh…" Brennan said, not wanting to wake Parker.

Brennan's eyes couldn't help but travel over Booth's body. He was barefoot and clad only in a pair of cotton pajama pants with the Steelers logo all over them. His chest and arms were bare, allowing her to look at his well-defined muscles. 'Wow' was the only word that came to her mind.

"What is my kid doing in bed with you?" Booth asked, genuinely confused.

Booth hadn't noticed Brennan looking at his chest because he had been looking at Parker. Parker's arm lay wrapped around the top of Brennan's stomach, and his head gently rested on the top of her breast. Her hand was on Parker's small back, slowly moving up and down the back of his shirt.

"He had a bad dream and was crying pretty badly. He also said something about a Sparky," she explained.

"His favorite stuffed animal," Booth clarified.

"Well, anyway, he asked if he could sleep in here with me, and you were in the shower, and he seemed pretty upset, so I said yes."

"How'd you get him back to sleep?" Booth asked. "I'm amazed. Whenever he has a bad dream at my apartment, we can sometimes be up for hours before he'll go to sleep again. What's your secret?"

"I just held him. My breathing must have soothed him," she said, yawning.

"Oh, you're sleepy," Booth observed. "Here, I'll take him." He sat down on the other side of her bed.

"Is that the best idea?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you move him, couldn't he wake up and get scared because he's in a different bed in a different room, and I'm not there?"

"Well, using that logic, it may also scare him to wake up with a woman who is not his mother when his father is no where to be found. I think he'll be okay, Bones," Booth said. He didn't get a response. "Bones?"

Booth looked over and saw that she had fallen asleep. Booth smiled as Temperance slept with his son in her arms. She was so great with Parker, and that fact only made her even sexier to him. Not wanting to wake either of them up, he turned the lamp off and pulled the covers over himself, settling comfortably in her bed.

He pressed his face into her pillow and immediately noticed that both it and the sheets smelled like her. He breathed in her scent before slowly joining them in sleep.

Around 12:30 that night, Parker woke up and found himself between his father and Tempe, both of whom were asleep. He left both the bed and her room and headed for the bathroom, careful not to wake either one of them.

With Parker gone, Booth instinctively rolled from his back to his side and wrapped his arm around Brennan's waist. She unconsciously moved into his embrace until her back was against his stomach.

Parker returned to her room to find Tempe curled up in his father's arms. He looked at them for a couple seconds. Deciding not to disturb them, he left the couple sleeping peacefully in Tempe's bed and walked to the guest room to fall asleep in the big, comfortable bed that was waiting for him in the spare bedroom.

* * *

_Coming Soon: Booth and Brennan deal with waking up in bed together, and Parker gets ready to go back to Rebecca's. _


	10. Chapter 10

_I never expected to get to 150 reviews for this story, so thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to review!! There are only two chapters after this one, so we're almost done._

_Disclaimer's on the first few chapters, and please leave a review it you have time!

* * *

_

The sun poured into the window in Brennan's bedroom early the next morning. The rays gently peeked through the curtains to illuminate the room. The two occupants of the room lay curled up together in bed, both still sleeping peacefully.

Booth lay on his back in the middle of the bed, his head just barely on the pillows. Brennan's head rested on the right side of Booth's chest. One of her arms was flung over his tight stomach, the other wrapped around her own stomach. Her hand rounded up to lie on the bottom of his upper chest muscle.

Booth had his arms wrapped firmly around her body. One arm wrapped around her back. The other came around his front, just below Brennan's arm, and rested on top of her own hand that lay on her stomach. The hand that belonged to the arm wrapped around her back rested softly on the pale, white skin that had been exposed when her shirt had crept up her body in the middle of the night as a result of tossing and turning.

His arms held her tightly against his body and her slow, deep breaths tickled the skin on his chest. The sheets rested around their waists, and their legs were intertwined underneath the covers, with her toes curling around his feet. The pair had unconscientiously rolled into this position during the night, and neither had moved since.

Brennan snuggled into his chest as she slowly gained consciousness. As she woke up, she quickly realized that the strong arms wrapped tightly around her small frame were definitely _not_ those of a six-year-old boy. She panicked as she realized that it was Booth holding her close, and those were _his_ legs wrapped up with hers, and that was _his_ bare chest that she was so comfortably laying on.

_Oh my God_, she thought. _How did Booth even end up sleeping in my bed? And how and when did we end up like _this_? Where'd Parker go? God, this feels good._

Brennan's slow, small movements in the bed and against his body caused Booth to awake shortly after she did. He, too, was unaware of the position they had found during their sleep and quickly realized that the person in his arms was definitely _not _Parker. He glanced down, knowing who he'd find, and saw his lady scientist laying against his chest. She looked comfortable and appeared to him to still be asleep. He felt her legs wrapped up with his and her bare skin beneath his fingertips. Her body was spooned against his side, and Booth silently prayed that she wouldn't freak out on him when she was fully awake.

_Oh, wow,_ Booth thought. _How did we end up like this? And where is Parker? Why isn't he in bed with us anymore? And how long has Bones been coiled up against me? God, she feels good in my arms. _

Both Booth and Brennan noticed changes in the other's breathing patterns and realized that the other must be awake. She slowly moved her head up as he moved his eyes down. Their eyes met gradually, but neither spoke. For the first time in their partnership, both were at a loss for words. As both of them wondered what to say in this situation, neither bothered to move out of their current position. Their arms still wrapped around one another, they silently started into the other's eyes.

Booth channeled all of his energy into not kissing her at that moment. Her hair, slightly curled as a result from going to sleep with it still wet from her bath, hung loosely around her shoulders, and her cheeks were pink from both embarrassment and warmth. This was the second morning in a row Booth had watched her fully wake up, and he was positive that he could spend the rest of his life waking up with Temperance Brennan in his arms. He once again thought she looked beautiful and wanted to tell her that in a low whisper while placing soft good morning kisses onto her lips. The only problem was, they weren't a couple, yet here they were, waking up in a very couple-like position. He had no idea what to say to her, but he wasn't about to tell her that they were sleeping together because he had simply been too lazy to move into the guest room the night before.

Brennan stared into his eyes, at a loss for words. Angela had told her to _kiss_ him, not _sleep_ with him! Even though her mind knew that she didn't actually sleep with him in the sexual sense of the term, waking up together after spending the night sleeping in the other's arms and in such a snug position as theirs could sometimes be just as intimate as having sex. Her mind briefly registered the fact that her hand was still resting on his naked chest and she was still curled up into his body, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She also couldn't get over the fact that his arms felt really good wrapped around her like that.

"How did we…?" Brennan started, slightly whispering.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. He matched her tone of voice. "What happened to Parker?"

"I don't know," she answered. "How long were we…?"

"I have no idea," he replied.

"Me neither," she sighed.

"So what…now?" he asked.

"I was going to ask you that," she confessed.

"I think I need to find my kid," he said.

"Good idea," she agreed. Neither of them moved, not wanting to be the one to finally break contact.

"So, uh, we should probably…move," Booth said.

"Yeah, of course," she agreed. "That's the logical thing to do."

They both got out of Brennan's bed simultaneously and walked into the living room. Parker sat wide awake on the couch, watching cartoons on Brennan's television.

"Parker," Booth said. Parker turned around on the couch to look over at them.

"Good morning," he said, smiling.

"Where did you go last night?" Booth asked. Parker shrugged.

"Guest room," he answered.

"Why?"

"I woke up and had to go to the bathroom, and when I got back to the room, you were hugging Tempe," Parker explained. "You looked happy, and I thought she might have had a bad dream, too, so I just went to the guest room."

Brennan stood by the window, looking out of the curtains. "Booth," she said.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"The roads are clear," she said, pointing outside.

"Aww…but I wanna stay!" Parker exclaimed. "I like it here."

"I know you like it here, but you gotta go back to your mom's," Booth said.

"Right _now_?" Parker asked.

"You could stay for breakfast," Brennan suggested.

"Yeah! I'm hungry. Can we, Daddy?" Parker asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Booth agreed.

Brennan moved into the kitchen to start breakfast while Booth picked up his cell phone to call Rebecca.

"Dr. Bones?" Parker asked. He followed her into the kitchen.

"Yes, Parker?" she answered.

"If you're not Daddy's girlfriend, why was he hugging you last night? Did you have a scary dream, too?"

"Oh, no, I didn't," Brennan asked.

"Then why was Daddy comforting you?"

"He wasn't exactly comforting me. He was just…holding me," she answered, unsure of how to explain the situation to a six-year-old.

"Why?" he asked.

"It just…happened, Parker. A person isn't always able to control their actions when they're asleep."

"Oh, so he didn't _mean_ to hug you?" Parker asked, trying to understand what had happened between his father and Brennan.

"I don't know. Maybe not," she answered.

Booth entered the room and laid his cell phone down on the table. He walked over to Parker and pulled him into a good morning hug.

"Mommy said we could stay for breakfast, but she wants you by noon, okay?" Booth said.

"Okay," Parker said, somewhat gloomily.

"Whatcha making?" Booth asked, walking up behind Brennan. "It smells good!"

"It's French toast," she answered.

"Sounds great, Bones," he said.

"Dad, is Dr. Bones coming with us to Mommy's house?" Parker asked.

"Why don't you ask her?" Booth replied.

"Can you?" Parker asked Brennan.

"I don't think so, Parker. You need some time with your dad without me around," Brennan said.

"You sure? You're welcome to come," Booth said.

"I'm sure. You both deserve some father-son time," she insisted.

Booth whispered a word of thanks into her ear, and she smiled back slightly. She knew enough about him to know that he'd want some alone time with Parker, and seeing as how he had been incredibly sweet to share their Christmas with her, the least she could do was grant him some time with his son.

She placed two plates full of French toast onto the table in front of Parker and Booth. She grabbed a bottle of maple syrup from her cabinet and sat down with a third plate of food for herself. Parker immediately drowned his food in maple syrup while Booth and Brennan shared a few quick glances over the table. Neither of them quite knew how to act after waking up together that morning.

An hour later, Booth was getting ready to take Parker to Rebecca's house. He had gotten himself and the little boy dressed and had Parker pick out which of his presents he wanted to take to Rebecca's with him and which ones he wanted to leave at Booth's apartment. Booth ran Parker's choices to take with him down to the car while Brennan helped him with his jacket, snow boots, and gloves. Booth returned to the apartment and held the door open.

"Okay, Parker, say goodbye to Bones," Booth said, standing in the doorway.

"But I don't wanna leave!" Parker cried.

"I know, bub, but we have to. You'll see her again. I promise," Booth said. Booth's heart broke a little bit every time he had to say goodbye to Parker and hand him back over to Rebecca. Now, it was breaking Booth's heart to see his son so reluctant to say goodbye to the other most important person in Booth's life.

Brennan was kneeling on the floor to help Parker with his winter gear, and she finished zipping up his jacket just as Booth told him to say goodbye. Parker threw his arms around her neck and squeezed tightly. Brennan felt a wave of sadness rush over her as she realized how much this little boy actually liked spending time with her and didn't want their day together to be over. She hugged him back tightly, becoming aware of the fact that she was going to miss him, too.

"Tell her thank you," Booth told Parker.

"Thanks, Tempe. This was the bestest Christmas ever!" he said.

"You're welcome, Parker. Thank you for coming over here to keep me company," she replied, still holding him in her arms.

"Bye, Tempe," he said sadly, pulling away.

"Bye," she replied and kissed his cheek. She stood and followed him to the front door. Parker walked outside of the apartment and Booth looked at her.

"I'll be back later, that is, if you still want me to come back," Booth said.

"I do," Brennan told him.

"Okay, then, I'll be back," he said, trying not to smile too widely.

"I'll be here," she said.

"See you later, Bones."

* * *

_Coming Soon: Booth drops off Parker with Rebecca, and Brennan talks to Angela about Booth. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Some of you said you were sad about having to say goodbye to this story soon. If it helps any, I've got another Parker-themed story in the works :)_

_By now, you know the drill, but disclaimer can be found on the first few chapters. _

* * *

Brennan shut the front door behind Booth and Parker and immediately walked towards her phone. She needed to talk to Angela. She wasn't any good at analyzing what was going on between her and Booth, but she knew Angela could tell her what their sleeping together meant and what to do about it. She dialed Hodgins's phone number quickly, hoping that she wouldn't be interrupting anything between Hodgins and Angela.

"Hello?" Hodgins answered after only one ring.

"I need Angela!" Brennan exclaimed.

Hodgins chuckled at the panic in Brennan's voice. "Hang on." He walked over to where Angela sat on the couch watching TV and held out the phone. "Brennan," he said.

"No," Angela said, taking the phone.

"No what?" Brennan asked.

"Cam promised us the day off today. I knew you wouldn't take her up on that offer, but I am _not _coming to the Jeffersonian today. The face can wait until tomorrow," Angela said firmly.

"What? No, there's no case, and I'm not at the Jeffersonian. I'm at home," Brennan replied.

"Oh, okay. So what's up, sweetie?"

"It's about Booth," Brennan said calmly.

"You kissed him after we talked yesterday?" Angela asked hopefully.

"No," Brennan replied.

Angela sighed and rolled her eyes. "_Brennan_!"

"I kind of slept with him instead," Brennan said, lowering her voice slightly.

"Oh. My. God!" Angela squealed. "You _what_? You _slept_ with him?"

"Brennan slept with Booth?" Hodgins asked, joining Angela on the couch. Angela held the phone slightly away from her ear so that Hodgins could hear the conversation as well.

"No, Ange, not…like that," Brennan clarified. "We didn't have sex."

"Okay, then I'm confused," Angela said.

"Parker was in bed with me last night because he was having nightmares, and Booth was in the shower. Then Booth came in looking for Parker, and I fell asleep while talking to Booth, and the next thing I know, Booth and I were waking up in bed together, and Parker was gone," she explained.

"Oh," Angela said, disappointed. "So, like, he was on one side of the bed and you were on the other side?"

"Well, no, not exactly. It was more like he was in the middle of the bed, and I was half on top of him, and our bodies were kind of wrapped up together," she said.

"Aww, sweetie!" Angela giggled. "So what happened when you woke up?"

"Nothing. We just sort of stared at each other."

"_That_ was your moment, Bren," Angela said, her tone of voice changing.

"What do you mean?" Brennan asked.

"You were looking into each other's eyes after waking up in bed together. That was your moment to kiss him!" Angela explained.

"Really?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, that was definitely the moment," Hodgins said into the phone.

"Hodgins is listening?" Brennan asked.

"Oh, sweetie, you know I'm going to tell him everything anyway. He might as well hear it for himself," Angela said.

"I suppose that's true," Brennan agreed.

"Anyway, Bren, clinging to each other in your sleep was probably your subconscious's way of telling you and Booth that you need each other," Angela explained, getting back on the subject.

"I hate psychology," Brennan instinctively responded.

"I know you do, but that doesn't mean that, in this particular case, it isn't true."

"Fine. What do I do now? We've been kind of weird around each other for a while lately. Waking up like that was just the icing on the cookie," Brennan said.

"Cake, sweetie," Angela corrected. "And when did you and Booth become awkward around each other? I haven't noticed anything."

"Pretty much ever since we ki…" Brennan said but stopped as soon as she realized what she was about to say. Angela and Hodgins exchanged a glance.

"Ever since you…_kissed_?" Angela guessed.

"I thought you said you didn't kiss him," Hodgins said.

"I said I didn't kiss him yesterday," Brennan quietly admitted.

"Bren!" Angela squealed. "_When_ did you kiss him?"

"A couple days ago. Caroline said the only way she'd make Christmas for my dad was if I kissed Booth under the mistletoe," Brennan briefly explained.

"And we're only hearing about this _now_? Wait, in your office? How did we miss that?" Angela said, beginning to pout.

"It was nothing, Ange. It was blackmail. It didn't mean anything," Brennan said.

"Well, there's your problem," Angela said.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan said.

"Things are awkward between you guys because neither of you wants to acknowledge the feelings that the mistletoe kiss brought up. You and Booth can't kiss and have it be 'nothing.' No way," Angela said.

"So what do I do?" Brennan asked.

"Where is Booth now?" she asked.

"Taking Parker to Rebecca's now that the roads are clear. He's coming back, though," she answered.

"Talk to him when he gets back. About the kiss, about your feelings, about everything," Angela said.

"And that'll work? We'll talk and things will just go back to normal?" Brennan asked.

"Well, maybe not what you consider normal for your relationship with Booth, but things might change for the better, and talking is definitely a step in the right direction," Angela said.

"Okay," Brennan nodded. "I'll talk to him."

"Now, tell me more about your evening with him," Angela commanded.

Brennan laughed. "Well," she began.

"Daddy," Parker asked in the car. "Why isn't Dr. Bones your girlfriend? I like her."

"Do you want to hear a secret?" Booth asked.

"Yeah!" Parker exclaimed.

"I like her too, buddy. A _lot_," he admitted.

"Then why isn't she your girlfriend?"

"It's complicated, Parker," Booth said. Sometimes Booth loved how black and white everything was to a child. Nothing was difficult or confusing. Everything was either one thing or the other.

"But doesn't she like you?"

"I don't know," Booth said. "I like to think she does, but I can't know for sure what she's feeling."

"You should just ask her," Parker suggested.

"It's not exactly that simple," Booth chuckled. Parker had talked about nothing but Brennan and their day together since they left her apartment. He pulled into the driveway of Rebecca's small house. "Looks like we're here. Hey, buddy? Do me a favor."

"What?" Parker asked.

"Don't tell your mommy that you and I slept in the same bed as Dr. Bones last night," Booth said.

"But I didn't. _You_ did," Parker said.

"Yeah, well, _really_ don't tell her that," Booth said.

"Why?" Parker asked.

"Just…don't," Booth said. "It's our little secret."

"Okay," Parker shrugged.

Rebecca walked outside as Booth and Parker pulled into the driveway. Booth put the car into park, turned off the car, and unlocked the doors. Parker raced out of the car.

"Mommy!" he yelled, running to her.

"Hi, Parker," she said, hugging him. "Did you have a good time with Daddy and Dr. Brennan?"

"Ah-huh. Tempe's the best!" Parker said.

"You call her Tempe?" Rebecca asked with a skeptical tone of voice.

"You told me I'm not allowed to call her Bones," Parker said.

"Uhh…okay, well, I want to hear all about your Christmas, but let me help your dad get your stuff."

"Okay," Parker said and ran inside.

Rebecca walked to the trunk of the car and grabbed the bag full of the gifts Parker wanted to bring home with him. Booth had a bag full of his clothes, Sparky, and other travel necessities.

"So he seems to be quite fond of your partner," Rebecca noticed.

"Uh, yeah. He is," Booth replied. "Listen, Rebecca, I'm sorry that I ruined your plans."

"It's okay. Parker's got another week and a half off of school. We can still go skiing."

"Good. Be sure to take pictures for me."

"I will, Seeley," she promised. "Did you remember everything this time?"

"I'm pretty sure we got everything he'll need," Booth said. He shut the trunk and walked into the house with Rebecca.

"Mommy, wanna chocolate?" Parker asked, holding up a container full of the chocolate treats they made at Brennan's house.

"Where'd you get those?" Rebecca asked, taking one.

"Me and Tempe made them. Daddy helped, too," he said. Rebecca glanced at Booth upon hearing Parker use Brennan's first name again.

"It's _fine_. Bones told him to call her that," Booth assured her.

"You know, Seeley, I hated Parker spending the entire holiday with another woman, but I suppose you could've done a lot worse than Dr. Brennan ," Rebecca said.

"Really?" Booth asked. He seemed unable to fight the smile that his lips were quickly forming into.

"Sometimes those books of hers make me worry that she loves her job just a bit too much, but otherwise, she seems like a good role model for Parker," Rebecca said.

"Thank you," Booth said. "Parker!"

Parker reentered the room. "Are you leaving?" he asked sadly.

"Yeah, I'm heading out," Booth said. He lowered himself to Parker's level. "We had a good time, didn't we?"

"Ah-huh," Parker nodded.

"You have fun skiing. I'll call you tomorrow, and I'll see you when you get back. Be as good for Brent as you were for Dr. Bones," Booth said.

"Okay," Parker agreed. He stepped forward and hugged his father tightly. "I love you, Daddy."

Booth closed his eyes and held Parker. "I love you, too."

He released Parker, touched Rebecca's arm, and walked out. He got into his car and started driving towards Brennan's apartment. As he drove, different images from the past couple of days filled his mind: her face at the jail when he brought her that tree, the view of her dancing with his son, kissing under the mistletoe in her office, how peaceful and natural she looked sleeping with Parker in her arms the night before. He thought about how good she felt curled up against him and how perfectly her body seemed to fit with his. He thought about how her lips felt against his and how he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since they kissed.

Booth pulled into her apartment complex, knowing that something had to be done. He had probably thought about kissing her at least a dozen times in the past 24 hours. They had even come close a couple of times. The awkwardness was fine outside of the lab and the FBI, but it wouldn't work too well when a case came up, which Booth knew was inevitable. As he had told her earlier in the year, they were the center, and the center must hold. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the conversation to come.

* * *

_Up Next: Booth and Brennan talk about their relationship._

_See that little purple button over there? It's just begging for you to leave me a review! _


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, guys, unfortunately, we've reached the end of this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or even just read the story. I'm so glad you all enjoyed it, and I hope this last chapter doesn't disappoint! _

_Disclaimer's on the first few chapters. _

* * *

Booth walked into Brennan's apartment and shut and locked the door behind him. Brennan was still wearing her pajamas and reading a book on her couch. She sat up as soon as Booth entered the room. 

"Okay, we have to talk about this mistletoe thing," Booth said, taking his jacket off. He threw the jacket onto a chair and sat down on the arm.

"I agree," Brennan said, closing her book. She laid it on the table by the couch and placed her hands on her knees.

Booth looked around the room. "You cleaned up."

"Well, you and Parker didn't, and it was beginning to drive me crazy," she said. "It wasn't hard. I just threw wrapping paper in the trash can."

The wrapping paper had disappeared, the presents were neatly organized under the tree, and the bows from the gifts lay in a straight line on her table.

"I told you I'd do that," Booth said.

She shrugged. "I was bored. It was no problem. Anyway, you wanted to talk."

"Yeah, I think we need to," Booth said. Brennan pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. "I just don't know where to start."

"Okay. I'll start. I…_may have_…lied about the kissing my brother comparison," she admitted.

"Well, good, because if you kiss Russ like that, that would just be gross, Bones," Booth replied, causing Brennan to laugh slightly. "Okay, I have a question."

"Okay," she said.

"Why didn't you let me try to stop her?"

"I don't…know what that means," she replied. She was confused as to who the 'her' that Booth was referring to was.

"Caroline. Why didn't you let me try to talk her out of having us kiss?" Booth asked. "I said I'd talk to her and you said no pretty forcefully. Why?"

"Because," Brennan said, unsure of how to respond. Had she really _wanted_ to kiss Booth that day? A little voice in the back of her head told her yes. "Caroline wouldn't have changed her mind, and that was the only way my father would get Christmas."

_Wrong answer_, Booth thought. He could tell she was lying. "A Christmas that you weren't even planning on going to. You were still going to go to Peru. My guess is you didn't decide to not go until the last second."

"Well, yes, but…" she said. He knew her far too well.

"Why were you so determined to get that trailer if you weren't even planning on being there?" Booth asked, cutting her off. His voice was slowly rising.

"Are you interrogating me?" she asked, beginning to get angry.

"No!" Booth replied.

"I'm not on trial here, Booth," she said.

"Of course you're not, Bones! I just want to understand what happened."

"Caroline gave me an ultimatum. I did what I had to do. That's all," she said.

"Stop lying to me," he said. "It was more than that, and you know it."

"Why don't you just tell me what you want to hear so we can stop fighting?" she countered. She stood up and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I want to hear the truth, Bones! I want to understand what happened between us this past week because I can't make sense of any of it!" he yelled.

"Why do you care so much?" she asked, matching his volume.

"What?" he replied, surprised at the twist the conversation had taken. Why was _she_ yelling at _him_?

"Why do you care, Booth? The kiss obviously meant _nothing_ to you!"

"How'd you reach that conclusion?" he asked. She had no idea how wrong she was.

"All the evidence points to that conclusion! You fought against us kissing the whole time!" she said.

"I had _three seconds_ to process what was going on before Caroline walked in!" Booth said, defending himself. "I walked in to your office to update you on the case, you said we had to kiss, Caroline walked in, and you kissed me! That didn't leave a lot of time to process, Bones."

"It wasn't just the fact that you fought it, you _hardly_ kissed me back! It was obvious that you didn't really want to be doing that, Booth."

"Is that what you think? _Really_?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"What am I supposed to think, Booth?"

"Oh, Bones," he said, speaking in a softer tone. "I wanted to kiss you back. You have no _idea_ how much I wanted to kiss you."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked, lowering her voice as well.

"Why? We were in your office, anyone could've seen us, Caroline was standing _right there_, watching our every move, and…" Booth started.

"What?" she asked, wanting him to go on.

"Well, part of me thought you'd slap me silly if I tried anything," he admitted.

"And how'd you reach that conclusion," she said, copying his earlier words. The irritation was back in her voice.

"You told me it would be nothing. You compared it to kissing your brother both before and after the kiss. You told Sweets it was nothing. I was convinced that you were just kissing me to get that stupid trailer!" Booth explained. "I knew you wouldn't be kissing me if Caroline hadn't told you to."

"I suppose there might be a bit of truth in that last statement," she admitted. "But I definitely wouldn't have slapped you for kissing me back once it had happened."

"No?" Booth asked.

"No, of course not."

"So you wanted to kiss me?" he asked, grinning.

"I didn't say that," she asked, matching his grin.

"Tell me what you're feeling, Temperance," he asked, stepping towards her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I want to know what you're feeling."

"About the kiss?" she asked.

"About the kiss, about us, about anything," he said.

"It wasn't nothing," she admitted, uncrossing her arms.

"No, it wasn't," he agreed.

"I still don't exactly know…_what_ it means, but it wasn't nothing," she repeated, stepping towards him.

"I don't know what it means, either, but I do know that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it or _you_ since it happened," he confessed.

They finally got close enough to each other for him to stare into her bright, blue eyes. She held his gaze and locked eyes with him. Neither moved; neither said anything; they just looked at each other.

This was it. Her moment. Temperance stepped towards him, placed her hands on his face and pulled his lips down to meet hers.

Booth instantly wrapped his arms around her when their lips touched. He felt joy in his heart when he realized that he'd finally get to show her just how much he had wanted to kiss her back that day under the mistletoe. He ran his fingers slowly down the length of her spine through her thin, cotton t-shirt. Brennan gasped at the sensation, and Booth took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her mouth.

Brennan moaned when Booth's tongue met hers. She buried her hands in his hair as he tasted every last corner of her mouth. His lips roughly pressed against hers as they stood in her living room devouring each other. He withdrew his tongue, intending to break the kiss, but she ran hers along his bottom lip, eliciting a moan from Booth. He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him as she began to explore his mouth.

They kissed with force and fire until air became absolutely necessary for survival. They broke apart reluctantly, gasping for air, and wrapped the other into a hug. Brennan was still breathing heavily as Booth's lips began to travel over the soft skin on her neck. She moaned softly, still breathing deeply, and titled her head to the side to give him better access.

"Right there," she moaned as his lips found the perfect spot on her neck.

Booth's hands traveled under her t-shirt and rested on her lower back as he gently kissed and sucked her skin. She tenderly massaged the back of his neck and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his lips and hands on her bare skin. After a few moments, she grabbed his face and pulled his lips away from her neck.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Please don't freak out on me now." She shook her head.

"More," she whispered, bringing their lips together again.

Their last kisses were hard and passionate. These kisses were gentle, sweet, and filled with love. She sucked on his top lip slowly as he worked on her lower one. Both held the other tightly, not wanting to let go. Once again, they kissed until air became necessary. He pulled away slowly, and they let their lips linger near the other's face as their breathing returned to normal. They finally pulled far enough away to look at each other, and Booth instantly smiled at her. Brennan returned his smile and rested her hands on his neck.

"See? I couldn't have done _that_ in your office," he said, grinning.

She laughed and buried her face in his chest. His hands rested on either side of her waist, below her shirt, and he began drawing small circles onto her stomach with his thumb.

"Mmm…that feels good," she breathed.

"You feel good in my arms, Temperance," he whispered to her. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

He continued his gentle movements against her stomach, and she closed her eyes in pleasure. He watched as her eyes fluttered shut and placed another quick kiss on her swollen, pink lips.

"Come here," he said, quietly.

He clutched her hand and sat down on one of her chairs. Once he was settled, he gently pulled her onto his lap. She smiled and began quietly giggling. Booth looked at her face and immediately thought about how cute she looked when she was laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm imagining Angela's reaction when she finds out about this," Tempe said.

"Please let me be nearby when you tell her," Booth said, joining in her laughter.

Brennan nodded. "That could probably be arranged." She leaned into his face and began placing light kisses on his cheek, ear, and jaw line.

"Temperance," he breathed, rubbing her back.

"Seeley," she replied, matching his tone. "Thank you for spending Christmas with me."

"Thank you for being so great with my kid. You have no idea how good you are with him."

"He's a great kid. It's easy," she shrugged.

Temperance rested her hand on his chest and kissed Booth's mouth gently. He held her tightly in his lap and returned the kiss.

"We still have a lot to talk about," she said, pulling away from him.

He nodded. "I know."

"Don't you think we should do that?"

"We will. I promise. We'll talk about everything tomorrow."

"What about today?" she asked.

"Today," he smiled. "I was thinking we could stay right here in your apartment, and I could spend the rest of the day kissing you."

She smiled back at him and shrugged. "Sounds logical to me."

He pressed his mouth to hers once again as snowflakes began to slowly fall outside her window.

* * *

_The End! I was a little bit nervous about this chapter, so I'd love to hear what everyone thought of it. Please leave a review if you have the time, and thanks for reading! _


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